


monday-friday: side effects

by sana_s



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, happy endings all round cus i said so, namo still, the one where the main character isnt taught to be a nicer person, theyre just taught to be themselves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:56:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22309198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sana_s/pseuds/sana_s
Summary: how nayeon came to love her obnoxious neighbor with the leather jacket and monsters inc. socks
Relationships: Hirai Momo/Im Nayeon
Comments: 61
Kudos: 304





	1. Chapter 1

No one told Nayeon that being an adult came with so many side effects. All of them varied in severity and how much they could annoy her. The most annoying one since she had moved out of her parents’ house at twenty and into a cramped apartment, with no heating, a worn out couch, and plain walls that she desperately hated, was bills.

She thought that the rent for the apartment itself was a far cry from justified – the chipped paint and musky smell in the hallway should’ve really led her away from the door when she first came to check the place out. If not that, then at least the sleazy landlord that was clearly more interested in getting money than the feedback Nayeon gave him about the poor living conditions of his tenants.

That was another side effect of being an adult that Nayeon couldn’t stand - biting her tongue.

She had to learn when not to say certain things and just take some of the punches that her eighteen-year-old self would've scoffed at. If her landlord had met Nayeon as a senior with nothing to fear or hold back in her last year of high school, he would’ve been in for the crudest words of his life. (Well, given the fact that the man had a protruded stomach that was more than likely filled with beer from the seedy bar he frequented and the fact that his white shirt was always stained with food that looked as if it was thrown there -maybe he heard his fair share of harsh words already.)

Nayeon grimaced as she heard the familiar sounds of her Monday and Friday nights. Her eyes closed and she held a pillow to her face so she could muffle the scream that left her lips. The thin walls that separated her and her neighbor stood no chance against her annoyance or the repetitive satisfaction of the woman and her partner on the other side.

This was the worst side effect so far that she had to endure.

One that her neighbor clearly hadn’t ever heard of: _forced social etiquette_.

Because that was honestly the only thing that stopped her from climbing out of her bed at eleven in the night, angrily opening the creaky door of her apartment and marching the few steps until her feet were planted at her neighbor’s door and her fist was pounding impatiently on it.

God, she could only _dream_ of the expletives she could shout in the person’s face.

The first time it happened, Nayeon had only blinked in shock and then let a faint hue of embarrassment tint her cheeks. It was a Friday that time and Nayeon had just gotten home from a long day of typing at a desk. Being an editor for a magazine had little perks to it but the strain on her back and late hours definitely weren't among them.

It was with great surprise that Nayeon had slowly shrugged her coat back on and grabbed her bag again when she heard another scream – because they could only be described as those – from the neighboring apartment. As far as she knew, the space was occupied by a sweet old lady that Nayeon would help up and down the stairs whenever she could.

She locked her door, said goodbye to any hope she had had for an early night and then went back through the musky hallway and down the stairs in a frazzled escape.

Little did she know that the sweet old lady she had come to be accustomed to had actually died two days prior and a less sweet and clearly not as old tenant (given their clear sex drive) had moved in.

Nayeon tried to be reasonable when it happened a second time. The alarm clock next to her bed on her night stand showed that it was only nine. She could understand that – nine on a Friday night. That wasn’t late at all. It was normal that if her neighbor had a boyfriend or girlfriend (she couldn’t really tell from the noises if her neighbor or special guest was the one making them) that they would get up to _adult_ activities. Hell, Nayeon was probably guilty of the same thing when she was still with her ex.

Except she wasn’t because she was always careful to be especially quiet. If not because she had grown manners over the span of three years, then definitely because she wouldn’t have been able to look the sweet old lady in the eye the next time she saw her.

By the fifth time, Nayeon had been so annoyed and angry that she started to pace in her apartment. She walked back and forth in the living room (the furthest from her bedroom since the noise was loudest there) and then angrily flopped onto the ugly couch with her arms crossed.

The seventh time, Nayeon had been entering her apartment late at night again and luckily (she thought too soon) her landlord was just making his way down the hall as well.

“Sergio.” She gave him a tight smile with her briefcase in one hand and the other on the knob of her door. Even from outside the noises were clear as day. The man stopped and smiled back at her – side tooth missing and all – as if he didn’t hear a thing out of the ordinary.

“Nylon.” He greeted.

She didn’t bother to correct him.

“Listen, I’ll just cut to the chase and ask you if you can talk to whoever lives next door for me.”

The man looked confused as he shifted his weight and hiccuped. Great, he was drunk.

Nayeon felt the defeat before it even fully came.

“With what?”

With what? Was a side effect of his drunkenness also deafness?

“Sergio – all I’m asking is for you to maybe knock on their door and say to be a little more respectful of others. Others that can hear every bed thump and groan.”

He laughed as if she was telling a greatly amusing story.

“Classic Nylon.” He shook his head with a smile. “Have a good one, remember rent is due Tuesday.” He reminded her as if the next day wasn’t Tuesday.

Nayeon stood hopeless and with a frown on her face as he walked by her smelling of beer and cheap aftershave.

She reluctantly was about to send a text to a friend, asking if she could crash at her place again, when the door a few inches from hers had opened. Nayeon stared as a girl with medium length blonde hair walked out. Was that her neighbor? She guessed not by the way the girl had a bag handed to her by an outstretched hand whose owner she couldn’t see.

“I’ll see you Friday.” The girl said with a sweet smile. Nayeon groaned as she thought: _I’ll hear you Friday_. The blonde-haired girl leaned in for what Nayeon assumed was a kiss to her neighbors lips and then she turned to leave (the door had already closed), slightly startled by the brown eyes that were watching her.

Nayeon didn’t look away immediately. Why should she? She had heard the girl during one of the most intimate acts there was – why should she feel shy at the innocent act of simply _looking_?

The girl moved some hair behind a red ear and looked down at the faded out carpet. She was clearly embarrassed from being so openly leered at but all she did was hurry passed Nayeon with a murmur of _‘goodnight’._

Nayeon pocketed her phone again and found herself surprised that the girl could actually feel embarrassment – with all the types of noises that came from the room she left, it should’ve been near impossible for her to blush.

She hadn’t ran into her again. For another four months the noises of satisfaction, between two people she didn’t know and one she hadn’t ever seen, continued. Four _long_ months.

Her phone was in her hands now as she sent a text to Chaeyoung and let her know that she would be stopping by. Again.

Nayeon tiredly pushed her feet into her shoes, she didn’t even bother to change out of her pajamas, who ever saw her didn’t matter.

What she didn’t expect was to lock her apartment the same time the door next to hers opened. A clear sign that they were done for the night.

Nayeon really didn’t care that she had already made her mind up to leave and now suddenly didn’t have to anymore. She would be annoyed but all she felt then was exasperation.

She turned swiftly, intent on still actually leaving. Chaeyoung’s couch was more comfortable than her own bed anyway.

“Wait!” A small voice came from behind her.

Nayeon steeled herself and tried not to let her emotions show on her face. Yeah, she could be a bitch, but in _Adulting 101_ it was a clear rule not to be honest with other adults. Or children when they asked about Santa and stuff like that.

She turned back around and faced the same girl from six months ago. She wasn’t blonde anymore, that much Nayeon had noticed. Her features had sort of vanished from Nayeon’s memory over time. Now she could take in the brown hair that was shoulder length, big eyes that probably had a great effect on people that looked into them and pouted pink lips that were pursed in hesitation. Now that she was closer, Nayeon could also tell she was a little older from the barely there lines by the crease of her eyes.

She was thin and in what looked to be great shape (and with her sexual appetite Nayeon wasn’t shocked) and wore shoes that looked too expensive for the dirty carpet she stood on. Nayeon shifted in her bunny slippers and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yes?” She pushed. It was late. She was tired. Chaeyoung’s couch was calling her.

Big eyes looked from Nayeon to the closed door of her neighbors apartment with a look on her face that gave Nayeon the impression that maybe she wasn’t supposed to say whatever she was about to.

“ _Er_ , I just wanted to apologize.”

The blush on her face was harsh and contrasted with her pale skin. Nayeon blinked in surprise at the apology. So she _was_ aware how loud they were after all.

Nayeon couldn’t find the energy to be upset at her – maybe it had something to do with the hypnotic brown eyes that screamed innocence – she just shook her head and waved the girl off.

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t but, _Adulting 101_. She forced a smile onto her face and bowed slightly. “Have a good night.”

Then she had turned again in hopes of reaching Chaeyoung’s couch before twelve.

“It’s not fine. You’re leaving again because of the... noise.” Her voice was closer now and Nayeon spun warily to see her within arm’s reach.

Nayeon wondered how she had noticed that she would leave in the first place and as if the stranger had read her mind, she explained.

“The walls are thin. And sometimes you slam your door extra hard when you leave.”

Maybe Nayeon’s annoyance wasn’t that greatly masked all the time. She felt a little twinge of smugness that the angry slams were heard by them.

“Sorry.” She said even though it was clear she wasn’t.

The brunette had a small smile on her face as if she could tell, but she just shook her head.

“I wouldn’t be either. I don’t even know why I stopped you, I just didn’t get to say much last time since I was so embarrassed – not that I’m not still embarrassed.” She dawned another blush as proof of that fact. “I wanted to take the opportunity to actually say sorry.”

Nayeon hadn’t expected her to be that... well, kind. She had put it in her head that the two people who were making those noises had to be obscene and rude. That they were the type to smoke in public around babies and wear socks with crocs. An apology was the last thing she expected from one of them.

“It’s okay. I’ve figured out ways to cope with Mondays and Fridays.” Nayeon should have taken mercy on the girl after a deeper blush rose to her cheeks at the specification, but it was four months! Of course she had comebacks just swimming around in her mind. “You and your boyfriend don’t sound too sorry about the thinness of the walls then.”

The girl widened her eyes and then a short laugh passed her lips. 

“My boyfriend? _Ah_ , you assumed it was a man that made me make those noises?” She raised her eyebrows in a mocking way as if the shyness had completely melted away from the assumption. “My boyfriend doesn’t live in this building, no. Neither does my husband.” The girl laughed at the expression on Nayeon’s face. “Oh, don’t feel bad for that pig. He’s a lot less discreet than I am about the fact that he’s screwing his assistant and her daughter that’s half his age.”

Nayeon wondered how she had ended up knowing much more than she wanted to about who was once a mysterious person.

“I guess it’s fair considering...” She added it as if she had just realized it, an afterthought. Then she pushed up from Nayeon’s door and made her way passed her with a small wave. Nayeon caught the scent of what was probably expensive perfume as she walked by. “It was nice to finally get to apologize to you. I’ll try to keep it down but I can’t make any promises for her. Enjoy your night.”

Then she walked down the staircase in her expensive shoes and a leather handbag draped over her arm. Disappearing once she reached the bottom of the steps.

Nayeon could do nothing but stand in the same spot with a look of shock on her face. That shock quickly turned to amusement and she shook her head and unlocked her apartment again. She was too tired to drive to Chaeyoung’s now.

She closed the door and turned the lock, her mind mulled over the stranger’s words.

Not only was her neighbor apparently into women but she was someone’s mistress too. God, just wait till she told Chaeyoung the next time they met up, her eyes were going to pop out of her skull.

In all the midst of her amusement, as Nayeon slid her slippers back off and laid back on the cooled sheets on her bed, she couldn’t help but wonder what type of person her neighbor actually was.

The girl from before (well, the woman since she definitely looked at least eight years Nayeon’s senior) was nice enough. She could’ve been snotty about the whole situation and just ignored Nayeon altogether, but she had chosen to address it and apologize.

The same couldn’t be said for her neighbor though.

Her hands tugged the covers up over her shoulders as she settled on her side and stared into the darkness wondering if her neighbor was older than her as well and if she was around the same age as the woman she met a while ago. That would certainly be interesting. Two older women in an illicit affair who met on set dates outside of work so they could have sex. If only Nayeon wasn’t just an editor for a magazine and actually had a drive to write novels, this would be great material to start with.


	2. Chapter 2

Another month had breezed on by and the noises hadn’t lightened despite how apologetic the strange woman had seemed. Nayeon wasn’t really surprised by that.

She had stopped slamming the door every time she would leave to crawl back to Chaeyoung’s apartment though. It seemed weird to keep doing it now that she knew they could hear it. Yeah the sexually fueled proclamations of just how hard or fast they wanted each other to go still annoyed her and she still despised her neighbor (she couldn’t bring herself to have any ill feelings towards the woman who was literally being cheated on by her husband. A failed marriage had to be enough without a stranger hating you) but slamming the door had lost its effect. Sadly.

It was done to express her anger and with hope to bring their attention to the fact that someone could hear them. Now she knew they had heard and just didn’t care beyond noticing.

It was two weeks later when Nayeon warmed up some leftover Chinese food in her microwave and tapped her fingers on the counter as she waited for them to be ready.

It was Monday.

It was also silent.

She wondered how long it would last. The microwave beeped and she opened it and got her food out. The brunette didn’t even bother to grab a plate, she just stuck a fork in and twirled the noodles onto it.

Her night was spent in front of her television lazily. She was prepared to turn the volume up to all at any moment, but it had gotten to twelve and there was still no sound from next door. Nayeon turned her television off tentatively – this would be the first Monday night in a very long time that wasn’t filled with loud groans and a pillow over her head to block those awful noises out.

She went to her bathroom, got her toothbrush out and slowly moved it around inside her mouth. Anticipating the slightest moan or expletive.

But neither came.

She washed her mouth out and stared into the mirror – her brown eyes held doubt and her lips were pouted slightly from the feeling of not knowing whether or not something would come and disrupt her night. It was like her mind and body had gotten so used to loud Mondays, they couldn’t let her believe that she had a quiet one.

She pulled long brown hair into a messy ponytail for bed and then turned the light in her bathroom off.

Nayeon laid in darkness as she stared up at her ceiling. Her body was tensed and her ears were waiting.

But nothing came (not even her neighbor).

It was all silent.

She smiled as she turned on her side and slept peacefully for the first Monday in a while, not on Chaeyoung’s couch.

That Friday was quiet as well. Not a peep or squeak from next door.

Nayeon almost thought the person had moved out until she heard the mellow music start to play. It was classical – a piano played gracefully and soothingly, and Nayeon found herself shocked at her neighbors music taste.

She had expected something much louder.

The music had replaced the frequent sex, the latter seemed to have disappeared completely and Nayeon wondered nosily if the husband had found out or if her neighbor had gotten dumped by her mistress. Maybe the woman had decided to just have a boyfriend and a husband and keep it at that. Or just a husband.

Chaeyoung had told her to stop thinking about it since it wasn’t her business and she had answered by reminding the shorter girl that this was the same neighbor who had unashamedly flaunted her sex life around. A little silent pondering wasn’t hurting anyone.

Two months later the somber classical music was replaced by upbeat pop. Nayeon took it as a sign that her assumption had been right and the sad music was the effect of a breakup. The pop indicated that her neighbor was in better spirits.

However, good for her and all but, hearing cheery music until one in the morning wasn’t the best thing ever. Her neighbor had to be the most inconsiderate asshole she had never met.

Along with the music came the groan and protest of furniture every time they would move something around. It only happened before and after the music started. When Nayeon had pressed her ear against the wall of her bedroom on a particularly nosy night, she heard the sound of heavy steps and frustrated huffs.

Her overactive mind deduced nothing law-abiding by it when she factored in the fact that her neighbor moved a lot of stuff around and she had never actually seen their face to identify them. Was it furniture being dragged or victims?

As always, she told Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung assured her that her life was too boring for her to have the great entertainment that came from having a serial killer as a neighbor.

Sergio stopped her before she could get her key into the hole. She cursed silently before she met him with a grimace that tried to be a smile.

His eyes were unfocused and he swayed from left to right so her manners didn’t matter obviously. 

“ _Nylon-ah_. I- I’ve been trying to * _hiccup*_ , find your neighbor! Give her * _hiccup*_ – give her these. Classic, classic Nylon.”

Before she could even protest the staggering man had shoved three envelopes into her hands. Nayeon was tempted to just let them fall to the ground but, there were certain things she just couldn’t do anymore. And act childishly was one of them.

“Have a good...” He never even finished. He was too preoccupied with trying to conquer the way his feet should work – right over left, left, left – Nayeon secretly hoped he tripped on the stairs.

She looked down at the mail that was faced down. Conveniently preventing her from knowing her neighbors name. She tilted her head at the three pieces of paper.

Nayeon entered her apartment and the envelopes landed on the coffee table in front of her t.v. Maybe she could still be a little childish.

She ended up keeping them for two more days.

Every time she would glance at them she got a weird bout of satisfaction knowing she was probably inconveniencing the person next door at least a little bit. And she was due some inconvenience. Way past due actually.

Nayeon would smirk conspiratorially to herself and even scoff at them during those two days. As if she owed her neighbor anything other than that, please. She still hadn't peaked at the name and she wondered if it was to protect the mystery of the woman.

“So, you’re just keeping their mail?” Chaeyoung had asked after Nayeon had called her sounding a little too amused at the situation. “And you think this is... _normal_ behavior?” She sounded unsure.

Nayeon rolled her eyes. Chaeyoung just didn’t get it. This person was the worst – the actual worst. A demon in fact. An annoying demon sent to personally piss her off for that time she had slashed her girlfriend’s tires in college. The girl had it coming after she tried to sleep with Nayeon’s cousin. At her cousin’s wedding.

“Nayeon, your fixation over this person has reached a new high. I mean, what if some of those are bills? Have you even checked? Their lights could be turned off any moment now.” The younger seemed serious and actually concerned.

Nayeon huffed. 

“They won’t turn them off after two days.” She reasoned weakly. She fiddled with the frayed material on her sofa. “Fine, I’ll give them their mail.” Okay, she did sound a little ridiculous even to her own ears.

“Now.” Was all Chaeyoung said before she hung up because she knew Nayeon and Nayeon was stubborn enough to draw it out for a third day.

The older girl scowled. She eyed the mail with a great level of detest considering that they were just innocent pieces of paper.

Reluctantly she scooped them up and walked over to her slippers – she didn’t dear let her bare feet make contact with that carpet in the halls. Her door opened and her eyebrows lowered, Nayeon moved the short distance to the neighboring door.

She thought about knocking. For a good point two seconds. Then she realized she rather face the devil himself than her obnoxious neighbor.

Nayeon bent down and was about to try to wedge the envelopes under her door, when a soft voice from behind her startled her. She paused what she was doing and looked around.

There, her eyes had found a woman with a slight smile and shiny eyes that looked down at her in question. Nayeon’s face was contorted into a mix of shock and embarrassment at how the situation must’ve looked and she quickly stood up with the envelopes behind her back.

The woman raised her eyebrows expectantly and Nayeon only then realized she probably didn’t hear what her first words were.

“Sorry, what?”

A pale hand raked through dark hair and stylishly choppy bangs that covered part of the woman’s forehead.

“I said, _what_ are you doing?”

Nayeon blinked as she weighed whether the truth was the right choice in this situation. The woman shifted her weight to her other leg and Nayeon became aware of the red and black motorcycle helmet in her hands. The black nail polish and leather gloves didn't escape her attention either.

“Well?”

Oh, right.

She caught herself about to roll her eyes just in time to stop the action.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m returning my neighbor’s mail. The landlord asked me to do it.” She added the last part as some sort of weird justification because she honestly felt completely awkward. The woman nodded her head and that slow smile returned to her face.

“How long ago did he give those to you?” Her head jutted towards the envelopes Nayeon still had behind her back.

Feeling caught, she slowly brought them from behind her.

“Again, not your business.” She said because there was no way she was telling the truth.

A soft laugh followed that was too filled with amusement for Nayeon’s taste. She scowled at the woman. _Adulting 101_ be damned, she wasn’t in the mood to fake politeness.

Not wanting to prolong the interaction, Nayeon just turned and knelt again. She tried to push all three under with no success, then tried just shoving them one by one but to the same result. They were too thick for the small space under the door. Nayeon huffed in frustration.

“Why didn’t you just knock on the door and give it to your neighbor like your landlord said to do?”

Nayeon wanted to groan aloud.

“Can I ask a question too since you have so many?” Nayeon asked as she turned again to look up at Motorcycle Woman. Yeah, Motorcycle Woman.

Her head tilted at Nayeon and mischievous eyes smiled at her.

“By all means.”

Nayeon stood up again, dusted the knees of her jeans before she looked at the pale woman who had managed to make an already painful and emotionally draining process even more bothersome.

“When exactly were you planning on fucking off?”

The woman seemed taken aback and hell, so was Nayeon. She hadn’t heard herself in that moment, she heard the wild and unrelenting eighteen year old that had thrown a party in her parents’ house while they were gone on an anniversary inspired vacation, without their permission. They of course came back early and Nayeon was caught whiskey-handed and with her tongue down some girl’s throat. Not the best way to come out but still effective.

“Sometime between when you stopped trying to shove my mail under the door and moved from in front of it.”

The motorcycle was switched to her right hand as she held the left one out.

Nayeon handed the envelopes over. She really wanted the worn out carpet and the floor beneath it to give way. She wanted to sink to the first floor then have the ceiling magically close back up above her head so she didn’t have to see the woman’s face anymore.

“Thanks.” Motorcycle Woman – her _neighbor_ – said, equipped with a sly smile. She came closer towards Nayeon and in a panic Nayeon had quickly side stepped as if she thought the woman would hurt her. Her neighbor laughed at the reaction and shook her head as she fished keys from her tight black jeans that had rips over the knees. “You know, if you weren’t so uptight, I would invite you in.” She gave Nayeon a slow once over and in her shocked stupor, Nayeon couldn’t tell what exactly the look meant. “Too bad you seem like a bitch.”

Then the door opened and she stepped in and slammed it shut.

Nayeon blinked at the door and couldn’t do much else.

So. That was her neighbor.


	3. Chapter 3

Nayeon grumpily chewed a piece of lettuce that she had stabbed on her plate.

Her jaw moved slowly, her eyebrows furrowed heavily and her eyes glared at the blank wall in front of her as she sat in her kitchen and ate the poorly thrown together salad.

The calendar pinned to her fridge was second in letting her know that it was the start of a new month. Nayeon didn’t even use the calendar, she had no idea why she had stuck it there. Maybe so she would seem more organized than she actually was if someone came over. However, the only people that really visited her were Chaeyoung and sometimes her parents.

But the last time her parents had came over they seemed shocked not only by how neat Nayeon had kept her apartment but, how loud the music from her neighbor was.

This led to the first thing that would let her know a new, awful month had started; her neighbors music.

More specifically the change of genre. What started off as classical and had quickly progressed to loud and fast paced pop, then changed to foul electronic music that made Nayeon’s head bang repeatedly onto the wall at night – but god, the EDM stood no chance against the skin crawling English folk music that drawled on and on and on. She wondered if her neighbor even understood English.

At the end of that particular month, Nayeon wanted to find every banjo player alive, rip their instruments out of their hands mid-song, and _then_ smash the stupid things on the ground.

This month she had been awaken by a Japanese singer and Nayeon thanked the deity above that the previous four weeks had ended.

The voice was low and she didn’t know much Japanese but she could tell it was a love song by the way the beat went – it was happy and light.

Nayeon didn’t mind it in comparison actually.

Her mood was sour because every time she heard the music or heard her neighbor entering her apartment late at night, all she could remember was their first and last conversation.

The more she thought about it, the hotter her face felt and the tighter she would clench her fork.

How dare she? How dare her asshole of a neighbor even talk to her like that? Call Nayeon the bitch as if _she_ wasn’t the most inconsiderate bitch to exist herself – was she aware that _she_ was the one who was obnoxiously loud on most days? That _she_ was the one that made Nayeon hold countless pillows over her ears and leave her apartment in the middle of the night to seek refuge in the peaceful silence of Chaeyoung’s house?

God, it made her blood boil to think about the way the woman had smirked at her before she slammed her door shut. Nayeon had thought about going over there so many times. She could knock on the door and finally get to say all the things she wanted to, yell them right in her stupid neighbor’s smug face.

Nayeon shook her head. No, she was an adult. She wouldn’t go about this like the person she was before she had turned twenty. She wouldn’t treat this situation how the old Nayeon would have.

“Finally. I’ve been telling you to let it go for months now.” Chaeyoung had said.

Nayeon rolled her eyes but bit back the remark she would’ve preferred to make at Chaeyoung’s persistent need to always do the right thing. Damn hippie artists.

“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t live here.” Nayeon said instead, and then swiftly tried to move the topic to other things. “What are you doing for you and Mina’s anniversary?”

And then they talked for another forty minutes about all the plans the younger girl had made. Nayeon listened attentively, more than happy to have her mind off of the woman next door to her.

“Wait, what’s that music? I know that song.”

Nayeon frowned and held the phone from her ear. She listened to the woman’s voice that sang and realized it was the same song from earlier. The one she had woken up to.

“I guess she’s playing the same song over and over now. A new tactic to get me to tear my hair out.” Nayeon had only said it half jokingly. She had came up with a theory sometime at the ending of last month, a theory so obvious she didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it before.

Her neighbor was doing it on purpose.

 _Of course!_ It was clear. The music was meant to piss her off because let’s be honest, who willingly listens to EDM on a Monday night until three in the morning? No one who didn’t have something to prove.

“Mina loves that song, is your neighbor Japanese too?”

Nayeon halted at the question because how would she know. She had no clue what her neighbor's name even was.

“I don’t know? Maybe.”

Chaeyoung hummed and Nayeon squinted her eyes at the sound.

“Okay.” Then she continued to talk about other things Mina liked and Nayeon put her phone on speaker and did her nails while she listened. She blew on the fresh paint and waved her hand around, all the while her friend blabbed cutely. It would be a lie to say she didn’t envy the relationship her two friends had.

Truthfully speaking Nayeon couldn’t remember the last time she had felt anything near that level of love for someone. Sure, she had dates and short term relationships, but nothing quite like Chaeyoung and Mina’s. She never had that connection with anyone.

Long after Chaeyoung had hung up on her end, Nayeon continued to stare down at her nails, not even really seeing them.

With a surprisingly upsetting jolt – she realized she had never been in love with anyone. Not at sixteen when the whole school was after her and she had dated all the way till seventeen, where she had kissed her first girl and then dated her as well until her eighteenth birthday party, where she had been an absolute drunken mess and slept with someone else.

Not her best moment and it earned her a slap to the cheek that was well deserved.

Nayeon thought about college. There Nayeon had met Sooyoung. Sooyoung was sweet and nurturing. She would often look at Nayeon from across the room then look away shyly once she had been caught. Sooyoung was the type of girl her parents would’ve loved her to date.

Smart, polite, funny and most importantly, from a good family.

Nayeon had loved her actually, she really had. Every time they went on dates or the younger girl would brush her hand against hers, she felt a warmth that started in her stomach and spread throughout her body.

But Sooyoung wasn’t meant to be Nayeon’s and although Nayeon wasn’t in love with her, it didn’t hurt any less when she had caught Sooyoung’s eyes drifting towards Joohyun more than they ever drifted towards her own.

Her heart still broke but the two remained friends and the pieces of her heart were picked up by another girl she met on campus in between classes. Nayeon should’ve known the girl was trouble from the way she was so sex driven and not at all interested in getting to know her but they still spent half a year together, she thought that counted for something.

Until she invited her to her cousin’s wedding and got a taste of the karma that awaited her since her eighteenth birthday party.

They split and it took a couple of weeks before her ex had let her know ( _‘because I don’t want to feel guilty for the rest of my life’_ ) that she had been unfaithful through their whole relationship.

Nayeon’s guard went up.

She was cold for a while until she met Mina, who introduced her to Chaeyoung, who then introduced her to Jisoo and suddenly she had a little group of friends, apart from Sooyoung, who she could actually have fun with and not have to worry about falling for again.

Sooyoung had taught her to be kinder, more considerate of others. Joohyun had taught her to let go of the things she couldn’t keep. And everyone that followed taught her that love was only possible if she was willing to put her all into it.

Those fireworks weren’t just created upon first contact.

So, at twenty-one when she had met the cute little barista at the coffee shop near her apartment, Nayeon took her time.

They got to know each other, Nayeon didn’t even ask her out for a month at first. Eventually she did and the girl said yes and they went from there. It was her longest relationship of all and Nayeon really thought that she was the one.

Except, she had put her all into it this time. She had even been patient and waited for their connection to grow and it _did_ grow. But she never felt anything other than another pair of lips over hers when they kissed and she never felt the fireworks that Chaeyoung had bragged about.

She didn’t feel anything like that. Just, a body on hers. Sure, it felt nice, but now that Nayeon had time to think about why she broke up with the girl, with her neighbor's Japanese love song on repeat in the background– it was because she did envy Chaeyoung and Mina’s relationship all this time.

She wanted what they had. She wanted the excited anniversary planning, the giggles as she talked about the dates they went on, the fireworks they both told her they felt.

It was with a sad release of breath that Nayeon looked away from her hands and at the empty apartment space.

Being in love didn’t seem like something that was made for Nayeon, but she still wanted it.

:

It was later in the night when there was an abrupt stop of music, so abrupt that Nayeon had paused the article she was writing and looked from her laptop to the wall behind her bed.

Then she heard her neighbor’s door open and shouts between two people.

She couldn’t really make out what the yells were about, she heard bits of curses and the voice of her neighbor angrily telling someone to leave.

Nayeon pursed her lips as the argument only seemed to escalate.

She looked back at the keyboard and tried to focus again – there was no way she was staying late tomorrow night at work to finish this edition, not when Mina and Chaeyoung’s anniversary dinner was at seven.

Two words more were all she could manage before she huffed in frustration and stomped over to her door.

It creaked on its hinges as she loudly tore it open. Her eyes focused directly on the two women who were having their very public dispute that should not be taking place on a Monday at nearly 2 A.M.

Neither noticed that Nayeon now watched them with a cold glare and bawled fists. She only lent the upper half of her body out as she spoke loud enough to get their attention.

Both heads turned and Nayeon recognized the brunette as the older woman from months ago.

“I know this is a difficult task, especially when its you two paired together, but could you actually not be the loudest people in this building for once? I suggest having your lover’s quarrels during the day when the people with jobs are out and you can do this without restraint. Although its not like either of you show any type of restraint in the first place.”

The brunette blinked at her and Nayeon looked down and took note of the red roses in her hand. She seemed to catch where her line of sight went and cleared her throat in embarrassment before she turned and looked at Motorcycle Woman.

“She’s right. This is ridiculous and I feel stupid trying to plead my case to you. I’m leaving the decision up to you.”

Motorcycle Woman seemed to get angry all over again. Nayeon never felt as though she were intruding by watching the women argue though. Public dispute, free show.

“Up to me? None of this is up to me.” She pushed the words through her teeth and the brunette seemed to feed off of the anger that emanated from her because she got mad all over again as well.

“I gave you choices, Momo! You knew what you were getting into from the beginning, so don’t act so innocent now.”

 _Momo_.

Nayeon held the name in her thoughts for a while. She didn’t even register the first half of what her neighbor had said next. Momo. It didn't sound Korean.

“You selfish woman,” then something in the middle that wasn’t Korean ( _bingo_ ), “think that it’s fair for you to have all three of us? Tell me why you said that you loved me then, tell me why you spent almost a full year...” then more of what Nayeon had just pieced together was Japanese. Huh. She would have to tell Chaeyoung that she was right.

The older woman had red eyes with unshed tears as she finally threw the flowers to the floor in her vexation. They landed at Momo’s feet and neither of the two ex-lovers looked down at them.

“I’m over trying to get you to talk to me. You can stay in this shit hole and rot for all I care – its what I get for trying to save a _-_ ”

From the look of warning she received from Momo, the sentence was never finished.

She dithered for a moment or two and Nayeon saw something other than anger flash in the woman’s eyes. It was a muted version of the look Chaeyoung would give to Mina sometimes.

Then the brunette’s next words confirmed her watchful assessment.

“I love you.” The words were said so lowly and sadly that Nayeon suddenly did feel like she was intruding.

Her neighbor shook her head. Her long and dark hair moved freely over her shoulders as she showed her complete disagreement with the proclamation of love.

“No, if you loved me, the way you say you do, I would be enough.” Momo repeated it as if it was rehearsed; as if she had spent countless hours in front of a mirror telling herself that.

“What do you want me to say, Momo?” The woman looked desperate. She tried to get Momo to meet her eyes and Nayeon watched as the first tear finally fell from her eye.

“That there’s no more choices! No more decisions you claim are _mine_. Say I am alone in loving you and being loved by you. That there are no other choices after all the months you’ve known me. _Watashi wo erande kudasai_.” The last words left her lips in a soft choke of emotion.

They both stared at each other, unblinking.

The brunette looked down at the large diamond on her ring finger and Momo followed her gaze.

“If you can’t pick me, please leave and,” she shook her head again and Nayeon noticed the tears on her pale face. They seemed so out of place after the first meeting she had had with her neighbor. The marks of sadness didn’t belong on such a fiery woman. “don’t come back.”

The woman’s head fell forward and onto Momo’s shoulder. She cried and Nayeon finally felt uncomfortable enough to move away and close the door, but not before she saw Momo push her away gently. After she closed her own door, she heard Momo’s close gently as well and then the sound of heels pad over the carpet. They stopped at her door, Nayeon could almost feel the sad eyes of the brunette woman.

Then they kept going until Nayeon heard them click on the stairwell.

She half expected to hear music squeeze its way into her apartment after the whole exchange. But the music never came, no.

Nayeon felt a tug in her heart at the sound of sobs that came from next door. They made her long for the EDM infused nights instead. She would even take the folk music over hearing her neighbor’s heartbroken cry.

She stood with hesitancy in the same spot by her door.

Nayeon didn’t like the way her heart and mind both agreed that they felt sadness from the sounds.

She crawled into her bed and pulled her laptop back over her lap.

She typed more words that weren’t nearly as articulate or well placed as they usually were. She accepted that her boss would probably not be pleased with it.

Then she got up exactly ten minutes later and headed over to her freezer where a new tub of chocolate chip ice cream was.

Nayeon slid her feet into her bunny slippers and braced herself as she opened her door and went over to her neighbor’s tentatively. Maybe she was only doing this because of her earlier reminiscing of past heartbreaks and she felt as though she could understand what her neighbor was going through. She reasoned and told herself that had to be it.

She looked down at the bouquet of red roses that were left by the door and sighed as she raised her fist to knock.

Soft footsteps were heard soon after and the crying had stopped. Nayeon was greeted by a door partly opened, only enough for her neighbor to peek through until she saw who it was and rolled her eyes at her once the surprise subsided.

Nayeon felt a small tinge of annoyance until she focused on the redness of her neighbor’s nose and the way she sniffled.

“What? Am I crying too loud as well?” There was a bitter bite to her words that Nayeon had to ignore if she was going to go through with this.

“Yes, but that’s not why I’m here.” She held the ice cream out to her neighbor and watched as the woman looked down at it quizzically.

“What are you doing?”

Nayeon rolled her own eyes.

“If this is how all our conversations go, I’ll get bored.” She kept her hand outstretched. “Take the ice cream so I can leave and you can go back to crying.”

Momo eyed it warily, as if she fully believed Nayeon had traded the icy chocolate for a bomb or something.

“Why?” She asked instead and Nayeon resisted the urge to just throw the ice cream pass her head into the apartment and then leave.

“How do you manage to be a pain in the ass every time I try to do something for you? Just take the ice cream.”

Momo infuriatingly asked:

“Why?”

It was as if she knew she was pissing Nayeon off. Like she knew exactly what buttons to press until she saw nothing but red and heard only the rude, younger version of herself reply in her head with something angry and bitter.

“Because it will make you feel better. Sweets are scientifically proven to help cure sadness or whatever, now take the ice cream.”

Momo looked down at the tub of ice cream again and Nayeon could feel the coolness of it leave her fingers slowly when her neighbor finally accepted it.

Her pink lips pursed and she held it in her hands clearly unsure.

Neither of them seemed to know what to do next so Nayeon just turned on her heel and prepared to leave.

“Thank you.”

She turned at the voice and caught the way her neighbor had given her something that wasn’t a scowl but definitely wasn’t a smile either. It looked confused; as if she didn’t know how to process and react to the situation.

Nayeon just nodded once and turned again because she didn't know how to either.

When she was behind her own door she frowned.

She would leave this whole night out when Chaeyoung asked her about her neighbor tomorrow at dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

It was understandably awkward the next time she saw her neighbor.

Nayeon had just been getting home and Momo looked as though she was on her way out for the night by the way she clutched the red and black helmet under her right arm.

Her gloved fingers held the key in her door and she slowly twisted it after she spotted Nayeon next to her.

Nayeon fished her own keys out of her bag and ignored her neighbor’s relentless gaze. She felt the uneasy and tensed air that floated around them and forced its way into her lungs until she felt too heavy and of course, dropped her keys onto the faded carpet with clumsy unfocused fingers.

“Shit.” She muttered as she bent down to retrieve them. Her cheeks were aflame and she felt the awkward expectancy that came from Momo’s direction as they both waited for the other to speak first.

Nayeon definitely wouldn’t be the one.

A tub of ice cream didn’t mean she had somehow decided to wave an imaginary white flag around and make idle small talk with her neighbor _-_ who had been successfully giving her migraines for almost a full year.

Momo still hadn’t moved off by the time Nayeon had her key into the door and just when Nayeon wondered if she was watching her to purposely unnerve her, the Japanese walked off behind her and she heard the sound of her boots on the stairs as she went down it.

Nayeon’s head turned in the direction and she watched the woman pull her long black hair from under the jacket she wore. Nayeon studied the way her gloved fingers went through her hair, shook it gently and then finally, she had disappeared completely from Nayeon’s sight.

She breathed out a breath she had unconsciously held and pushed her door open.

It was Friday night again.

Surprisingly enough, Nayeon had a date.

There was a cute girl that Nayeon saw almost every evening on her way home from work. She would always be walking her dog at the exact time that Nayeon would pass that way on the street and Nayeon knew it probably wasn’t all a coincidence.

Especially since the girl seemed all too eager to engage in sporadic conversations about the weather and the latest weird thing her dog (a ratty looking Chihuahua Nayeon couldn’t make eye contact with) had done.

Nayeon knew exactly where the conversation was going when the girl asked her what her plans were later in the night.

So, she pulled her ‘date dress’ from the closet and lined up her heels by the foot of the bed then went over to the bathroom so she could take a shower.

By the time she was ready, Chaeyoung had called her.

“Are you wearing that black dress?” Was her first question and Nayeon rolled her eyes.

“Yup.” She had curled her hair perfectly and her fingers moved to twirl one of the curls absently. “You’re not going to spy on me from two tables over like you did last time, are you?”

While it was nice that her friend went to such lengths to make sure her dates went smoothly, it was also completely embarrassing when she would have to explain that the weirdo (wearing a brightly colored wig and a jacket twice her size) was actually someone she knew and _no_ , her date _shouldn’t_ go over and demand why said weirdo kept staring at them from over a menu and breadsticks.

“No. But Mina and I happen to have a date there tonight as well.” The younger girl said and Nayeon muffled a groan. “Don’t sound so upset. I’m just trying to make sure you don’t date another Sengi.”

Nayeon winced at the name.

“There’s no one on this planet that could possibly be worse than her. It’s sweet that you care, but really, Chaeyoung I’m a big girl.”

But of course that never mattered to her friends and Nayeon was treated as though she was the youngest and not the eldest.

When she turned the key in her door an hour later for the third time that day, she heard the familiar sound of boots on the staircase. She willed herself not to look towards her neighbor but soon enough she had to walk in her direction anyway.

She turned and her eyes immediately found the woman who now had her jacket over her arm and her helmet tucked in the same crevice of her elbow. She looked at Nayeon as if she was the lion and Nayeon was a scared new zookeeper that had been forced to go in her enclosure.

Nayeon was well aware that they had both paused a few inches away from each other just staring and exchanging no words.

She didn’t know that there were even any words to say. She had come to learn that in certain situations, adults were meant to do certain things. If it was anyone else she would have said a mandatory hello and good evening.

She didn’t particularly like anyone in the building. Most of them were students who lived there because it was close to the university two blocks from there. Nayeon never really had to say much to them since she hardly saw them. The other occupants were people she couldn’t ever see herself talking to willingly, but still she returned their _hello’_ s and _how are you’_ s with a practiced ease.

She didn’t particularly like any of them but she didn’t hate any of them either.

Her neighbor on the other hand, caused her direct grievances. She was allowed to feel the tiny pool of hate that collected inside of her.

Momo walked forward again and Nayeon was suddenly aware of the woman’s determined stride towards her.

Without any preamble, Momo held her hand out and drew Nayeon’s attention to a plastic bag that was clutched in a gloved fist.

She looked down at it with probably the same expression Momo gave her some nights ago.

“Take it. As a replacement for the one you gave me.”

Nayeon noticed the outline the container had against the thin plastic bag and she immediately understood what it was.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Moreover, she found herself saying the words not out of expected courtesy, but because she really didn’t think Momo needed to. She hadn’t given her neighbor the ice cream as an expected formality – she had done it because she felt some of Momo’s pain.

She looked up at the woman and noticed the uncomfortable look on her face.

“Look, I know you hate my guts and all but I just need you to take this so we’re even and I don’t owe you anything.”

Nayeon felt a small prickle from the words and her neighbor’s now bored expression.

She took the bag and bowed a little. “Thank you.”

Momo had a hint of a smile on her face after she took in Nayeon’s appearance.

“You have a date.”

It wasn’t a question so Nayeon didn’t reply to it. She shifted her weight to her other leg and stood with the plastic bag in one hand and her purse in the other.

“You don’t seem like the type to go on dates.” Momo said after the shortest bit of silence.

Nayeon rolled her eyes.

“That would be offensive if you actually knew me or what I’m like.”

The mischievous glint in Momo’s eyes returned as she studied Nayeon. Her eyes went over the neckline of the black dress and all the way down to the heels, which Nayeon only wore on special occasions.

“I know that you’re usually always home on Friday nights, and every other night actually. What? Don’t you have friends?”

Nayeon clenched the plastic bag tightly.

“Is there a reason why this conversation is happening right now? Or can I actually get back to going on that date that you so tactfully announced was a shock.”

Momo had that stupid smug look on her face that Nayeon hated.

“You might want to put that ice cream in your freezer first. It would be weird to show up with it on your first date.”

Nayeon fought the urge to show anything on her face but mild indifference.

“Who said it was my first?”

“Who would go on a second date with you?”

Then Momo walked the rest of the way to her door.

Nayeon stood in place and she dropped her head after she heard it open and close.

She put the plastic bag on the floor and left it there to melt.

Because _fuck_ Momo and _fuck_ her stupid way of getting even.

Nayeon knew her words meant nothing, they didn’t hold any truth because as she said; Momo didn’t know her.

Momo didn’t know anything about what she was like, what her interests were, what made her laugh – she didn’t even know Nayeon’s name (as far as she knew). Therefore, that stupid backhanded question should’ve bounced off her easily and she should’ve been able to walk up to her date without the feeling in her chest that maybe she would never have anything more.

Would never have more than blank stares and forced conversation _–_ all the while, she looked to the side and saw Mina and Chaeyoung laughing together and then shooting her encouraging smiles.

It wasn’t until Nayeon’s second glass of red wine that she had loosened up and completely thrown her neighbor’s words away. She found out that she actually did like the girl, even if her jokes were a little corny and the way she held Nayeon’s hand was a little forward.

Nayeon had waved her off outside of the restaurant and waited until she was gone completely before she turned to the expectant faces of her best friends. They kept her there for another thirty minutes until Nayeon escaped their intensive questioning on how exactly the date had went.

She had the whole walk back in the silence of the night to think.

She had said yes to the second date that she had been offered. It was fast but she had said yes anyway. She knew that she only did it to prove a point – because, yeah, she _could_ get a second date if she wanted. People wanted second dates with her.

Nayeon ignored the hoots she received as she walked by a pub, unsurprisingly seeing her landlords unmistakable figure slumped over one of the outdoor tables.

She shook her head and trekked on, her mind just as heavy as it was when she was making her way to her date.

Her hand pulled open the door to the apartment complex and she stepped up the stairs. Each step seemed louder than the other did to her and she had no idea why she held her breath until she reached the top.

A puff of air left her lips when she realized the halls were clear of any leather-wearing motorcyclist.

She rummaged through her purse and dug her keys out. If she had had the third glass of wine she wanted to, she probably wouldn’t notice that the plastic bag was no longer by her door.

She snickered at the thought of one of the college students snatching it up after they saw the tub of ice cream in it. _Good riddance_.

Nayeon pushed her door open and closed it.

It was a good date.

There would be a second one soon.

No sooner had she locked her door did she hear loud music fill the room. Nayeon felt another prickle of annoyance at the clearly intentional act, but she let it go. Her night had gone well enough, she had a pretty date with the promise of a second and she had gotten to spend time with two of her best friends afterwards. Not to mention her boss had commended her on her latest article during her lunch hour.

The weird blank feeling in her chest was pushed to the side as she made her way towards her bathroom and took her makeup off.

Japanese words floated around in the air and wrapped around her mind slowly, encircling her and almost taunting her - as if the words came directly from her neighbor’s lips in harsh whispers.

Why wouldn’t she think Nayeon could get a second date?

What was it that she had gathered from their few encounters that gave her neighbor the impression that Nayeon was – well, _un-datable_?

Wasn’t Nayeon the one that had put their differences aside and offered Momo compassion? Because she didn’t see her mistress sticking around to console her. _Her_ _mistress!_ Her neighbor with a _mistress_ was judging her dating and social life. The woman had said she loved Momo to further salt Nayeon's wounded pride – _loved!_ Nayeon’s short laugh was incredulous. _How could someone love that asshole?_

Nayeon felt the lousy bite of jealousy settle into her skin and leave a nasty imprint. How could someone love a person as aggravating as Momo?

How could someone like Momo find love...?

The silence that was offered between the changing of songs left Nayeon to fully take in the question she wished she didn’t have to linger on.

_How could Momo find love and not her?_

What was it about her that made people lose interest or even cheat? What was it about her that made it seem like she was unlikely to get a second date?

Nayeon turned the light off after she had washed her face.

She lay in bed with eyes that threatened to spill the surge of emptiness she felt, all with a soft Japanese voice in the background of her dark thoughts. Dark thoughts that were usually so far from her mind because they didn't belong there. They couldn't. But there was something about the woman next door to her that made her feel raw with emotions she packed away.

:

The second date hadn’t been great but Nayeon knew that opinion wasn’t shared by the bubbly girl. So she agreed to the third. A part of her felt guilty for essentially leading her on but the lonely part of her was just happy to be wanted by someone.

She climbed the stairs with an absent smile on her face as she remembered a stupid joke the girl had told her. It was such a corny one but Nayeon couldn’t help but laugh at the way it was told.

“A good second date then?”

The voice made her head snap up and the smile completely fell from her face.

Momo stood by her door – actually by her door – and she looked as though she was waiting on Nayeon.

With an exasperated sigh, Nayeon made the final two steps until her heels were on the carpet of the hallway. She looked around in her purse and brought her key out, more than eager to get away from her neighbor.

She had a good night; Momo would only say something to ruin it.

“Mm.” Was her noncommittal reply.

Momo seemed determined to make a conversation out of nothing however.

“You ignored my ice cream. That was my peace offering, you know.”

Nayeon pushed her key into her door and tried not to dwell on the fact that Momo was right beside her. Momo smelt like peaches and the mint gum she was chewing slowly.

Nayeon turned to look at her fully and noticed that the biker jacket and leather gloves look had been traded in for a simple red t-shirt and jeans shorts. Her feet were even covered in Monsters Inc. themed socks.

“Like what you see?”

Nayeon looked back up in time to see the way those mischievous eyes glinted at her.

“You mean a neighbor that won’t take the hint that I clearly want to enter my apartment and not speak to her?”

Momo’s smug look stayed in place.

“You didn’t take my ice cream.”

“Fuck your ice cream.” Nayeon didn't even think twice before the words flew out of her mouth. She didn't have time to think about how out of character that was for her.

Momo laughed and the sound was so unexpected that it startled Nayeon. Her neighbor nodded her head and then she leaned it on the space between the door and the wall. Brown eyes looked at Nayeon. Then looked some more until the latter got annoyed by the unnerving stare and shifted.

“Well, bye now.”

But Momo stopped her with a soft voice again.

“So, a good second date?” She asked again.

Nayeon felt a sudden wave of anger overflow her.

“It’s shocking, right? That I could have not only one but _two_ good dates.” Her eyes went between Momo’s in a darting movement. “Honestly, keep your stupid peace offering and just stay away from me.” There was something about Momo that just made Nayeon lose every bit of amicable self-restraint she had. Something made it impossible for her to be the polite adult she knew she had to be.

The woman looked pleased with herself for the reaction she caused.

"What?" Nayeon snapped.

Her neighbor only smiled more.

“You’re so nice to everyone, I hear the conversations you have with them. _Nylon-ah_.” Momo mocked Sergio’s constant blunder of Nayeon’s actual name. “You never correct him. When he put my mail into your hands, I heard the contempt in your voice for me when you tried to refuse it. When those college kids rush pass you in the morning on your way to work you just let them. But I hear the curses you let out once they’ve all ran down the stairs.” Nayeon stood still as Momo’s voice lowered and she gave her another impish smile that reached her twinkling eyes. “And when I’m playing music so loudly you can hardly fucking think, you never knock on my door and say what you really want to.”

Momo’s minty breath had fanned across Nayeon’s face like a cool tap on her cheek. Those eyes bore into her and stripped Nayeon of every ounce of refinement she had. They almost made her lose control of herself and shout into Momo’s face.

“It’s not – there would be no point in it.” She said finally. Her voice was taxed with the thin hold she had on her composure. “I know from that little spiel you think you know me. But you don’t, you never will.” Nayeon finally pushed her door open.

“Don’t assume I want to. Nayeon.”

She pronounced the name clearly. It had been said in such a careful and pointed way, it harshly contradicted Momo’s previous words.

“You know my name.” Nayeon muttered it. How did Momo know her name and exactly how long had she?

The other woman gave her a barely there smile.

“I’m glad you had a good second date.”

Then she pushed herself from against the wall and went to her own door.

Her neighbor looked at her again as her hand fell on the knob. Then they both disappeared into their own apartments.

It was with a great deal of bitterness that Nayeon realized Momo was probably the only person living there who knew her name, even though she had been living there three years and Momo was the newest tenant. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the support!  
> i went oowoo.


	5. Chapter 5

There was no particular plan in her head as she left her apartment the following Monday night instead of sticking around to listen to the latest mix of horrible music her neighbor played. Now that Nayeon knew it was solely to get a reaction out of her, she was even more determined not to give in.

She bet Momo would love that, right. If she could be the one to make Nayeon so angry that she pounded on her door and demanded that Momo finally shut the _fuck_ up.

Nayeon sat down on the park bench. It was a little cold at this time of night but she could handle it. The coldness around her didn’t really compare to the chill in her heart at the moment. The stars were hidden behind heavy clouds that threatened to pour and Nayeon never thought she could relate to a cloud so much.

Momo made her swear.

She lost her composure for the third time around her neighbor – she lost the person she knew she had to be.

With a weighted release of breath, Nayeon looked up into the sky and wondered exactly how she had managed to lose herself so quickly. Momo aside, Nayeon wasn’t Nayeon anymore.

The worst part about it was that no one else seemed to mind that. Did she even mind it?

Maybe she _had_ been too wild. Too abrasive. Try as she might she hadn’t been as delicate as Joy, or even as politely straight forward as Mina. She definitely didn’t possess the same naturally cheerful disposition as Chaeyoung did. She looked down at her scuffed sneakers and realized, with a short laugh, that she had changed herself to fit in with them because she thought she had to.

Everyone did it to some extent, didn’t they? Mold them themselves into versions that could better suit their surroundings. Like a flower would bend itself towards sunlight so that it could simply just keep on being a flower, Nayeon had wound herself into an indecipherable shape just to keep on being accepted by her friends and her parents. Wasn’t that natural instinct? Didn’t all living things just try to blend in as well as possible in areas they knew they didn’t belong? Just so they wouldn’t stick out.

Nayeon realized there were many places she didn’t belong – her apartment being the main one.

The bench creaked beside her and Nayeon rolled her eyes when she caught the scent of peaches and mint.

“Not you again. Are you stalking me now?” Her tone wasn’t nearly as harsh as she wanted it to be but the chill of the night and her thoughts had taken some of her edge away. She would have been a docile popsicle in another five minutes. Momo’s presence just heated her blood back up.

The woman shrugged and Nayeon found it more annoying than she should have.

Branches on the trees around them shook from a sudden gust of wind and Momo’s hair moved away from her neck. Nayeon noticed a small tattoo under her ear that she probably would’ve never seen if there wasn’t a tall lamp right beside the bench they sat on.

Besides the trees, nothing else made a sound except the occasional soft sound of a car engine in passing. Their neighborhood wasn’t exactly buzzing with life on a Monday night.

Nayeon turned her head so she was no longer looking at her neighbor; and that was when the other woman chose to speak.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings the other day.”

Nayeon almost asked _‘which time’_ but they both knew what Momo was referring to.

“It’s fine.” Because it was, wasn’t it? Then again, she could never keep herself from being anything but _herself_ with Momo. “Actually, it’s not. It’s not fine. That did hurt.”

Her neighbor looked at her. Nayeon looked back. Why was she admitting that to her? It wasn’t like Momo even cared. There was no point in making herself look vulnerable to this woman.

The pale white light of the lamp caught all the best parts of Momo, it caught _all_ the parts of Momo.

Nayeon felt another wave of bitterness because, _fuck_ , Momo was beautiful. Why did she get to be so beautiful?

She looked at Nayeon with that same piercing stare.

“I knew you only wore that black dress on first dates.”

Then she looked away, severed the eye contact.

Nayeon blinked and tore her gaze away as well.

If Momo knew that she only wore that dress on her first dates that would mean – Nayeon looked back at the quiet woman.

It would mean that Momo had noticed it. From the few dates she had went on sporadically since Momo had moved in. Nayeon thought about the harsh question Momo had fired back at her, asking her who would go on a second date with her.

Momo had been embarrassed. She was cornered and knew that Nayeon might figure it out sooner, so she shot Nayeon down with a hurtful question to draw the attention away from her silent observations.

The other woman shifted uncomfortably and Nayeon found she took pleasure in the fact that she made Momo feel at least a little nervous.

She wasn’t entirely sure what Momo made her feel besides tensed and annoyed most of the time.

“I apologized. Will you take the ice cream now?”

Nayeon rolled her eyes.

“You didn’t, but you don’t seem like the type of person to say sorry so I can see why you’re so bad at it.”

Momo gave her that impish smile. “Don’t assume you know me.”

Nayeon almost repeated Momo’s words to her as well but she found herself hesitating.

The woman intrigued her, that much was obvious to her now. From the start, Nayeon had taken an interest in her unconsciously. She noticed her neighbor’s _schedules_ (even if they were sex filled at first), which let her know who she was seeing and then she took note of her habits – although she didn’t think playing music loudly was a habit anymore.

Without being fully aware of it, Nayeon registered the fact that yes, Momo _did_ ride a motorcycle and yes, the helmet _was_ black and red. Momo also liked Mosters Inc. a lot because she wore socks with the characters on it and during the explosive argument with her mistress some weeks ago, Momo wore the matching pajamas to the socks. Momo was also a gum enthusiast – the woman always had a stick of gum in her mouth whether it was mint or just regular bubblegum. Momo was a dancer. That part she had figured out from the _‘Dance Academy 2015’_ pin stuck to Momo’s jacket at all times and the way Momo would move about furniture at ungodly hours in her apartment to make space for her dancing.

Yeah, dancing seemed a lot more likely than dragging dead bodies around while _Abba_ played in the background.

It shocked Nayeon how much she had noticed without actually noticing.

Nayeon looked at her and it was as if she was actually seeing her for the first time. Instead of an annoying neighbor, Nayeon saw a dancer, who loved cartoons (or at least one cartoon dearly) and rode a motorcycle. Who was just as heartbroken as she was if her sobs that night had been any indication.

She understood Momo a little bit more in that moment.

“Your thoughts are louder than any music I could play.” Momo’s voice brought her back to the present.

Nayeon shook her head and internally agreed.

“Im Nayeon.” She held her hand out.

Momo looked down at it. If she was surprised she hid it well as she clasped Nayeon’s hand.

It was a gentle hold; warm in contrast to the cold air.

“Hirai Momo.”

:

The music stopped.

Nayeon would hear it playing during the week when she came home from work, but as soon as she closed the door to her apartment, the noise would cease.

“So she’s not the devil incarnate anymore...?” Chaeyoung had asked over the phone. She sounded surprised – Nayeon was too in a way. She found herself able to think of her neighbor and not have a scowl on her face.

“No, not anymore.” Nayeon was glad that Chaeyoung couldn’t see the smile she had as she poured milk into her coffee. “I think we’re almost friends actually.”

They had gone for that ice cream Momo was so hellbent on paying for.

Momo would wave at her and smile when they crossed paths in the hallway. Nayeon found herself asking Momo how her day was – and it wasn’t to be polite. She found herself listening to Momo talk about a new routine she had to learn (Nayeon was informed that the change of genre every month was actually because Momo’s dance class focused on a new type of music to dance to every four weeks to keep things fresh). Momo told her about the Japanese song that had been on a loop for a while, saying she had choreographed a dance to it to help say goodbye to the brunette woman. Even though the woman would never see it, it brought Momo peace.

“Friends? What did I miss – three weeks ago you hated her.”

“Well, now I don’t.” She said it dismissively.

Chaeyoung latched on regardless.

“There’s something different about you, but not different at the same time. I don’t know.” There was a small pause where Nayeon waited with a nervous breath because – she really loved her friends. She wanted her friends to love her too. “It’s different, but familiar. You seem happy.”

“I was happy before, Chae.” 

“Happy for Mina and I. Happy for Joy and Irene. Even happy for Sengi and whoever she had ended up with.” Chaeyoung released a breath as though something had been lifted from her shoulders. “Now you seem happy; for you.”

Her best friend’s words had stuck to her all through that day.

:

It had been raining constantly the following week. She hardly saw much of Momo but Nayeon didn’t pay much attention to it.

She would keep an ear out for when the woman’s door would open and close during the day and night, a signal of when she would leave and then eventually return. Nayeon wasn’t sure if it was something she had always done but she definitely noticed it now.

One night in particular, Nayeon heard the boots of her neighbor trudge past her door a little noisier than usual. She paused her typing and listened out as she heard a silent swear, followed by Momo’s groan.

She _could_ leave it. Not worry so much about someone she hardly knew, but it didn’t sit well with her after the loud thump of something connected with the door and she realized her neighbor had kicked it. Why she had done it, Nayeon didn’t know.

The brunette put her laptop aside on the table that was in front of the ugly couch and without much hesitation, she padded over to the familiar pair of bunny slippers and opened her door.

Their hallway now had a flickering light that hovered just between Nayeon and Momo’s doors. She told Sergio this; Sergio assured her he would get right on it. Needless to say Nayeon didn’t hold her breath.

Momo turned to her, or rather only turned her face since her forehead was leaning against the wooden door. She wore her usual leather jacket, with a bright red shirt underneath and ripped pants. Her clothes were wet from the downpour outside and she was shedding water onto the dirty carpet beneath them.

Nayeon gave her a risen eyebrow and Momo smiled a little.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make that much noise.” Her words weren’t the most coherent and with amusement, Nayeon realized her neighbor was at least a little tipsy.

She leaned her side onto the hinge of her door and folded her arms.

“It’s okay.” Nayeon hadn’t really came out here to yell at her. She wanted to check on her – but Momo didn’t need to know that.

Then Momo closed her eyes and just nodded. Nayeon noticed the helmet that left her neighbor’s lazy grasp accidentally and rolled a little towards her.

She bent down to pick it up and then tried to hand it to an unresponsive Momo.

Okay maybe Momo was maybe more than a little tipsy. Nayeon worried about how exactly her neighbor had made it home on a motorcycle safely.

“Where are your keys? I’ll help you get in.” She offered because standing out in their cold hallway silently wasn’t exactly ideal for her at two in the morning.

At this, Momo groaned and kicked her door with a booted foot again.

“I lost them. I have no idea if I left them at the party I was at or if they fell out of my pocket or something on the way here...” she was drawling and shaking her head slowly, “I doubt Sergio is around to let me in.”

Nayeon didn’t think he would be either, it was a Saturday night and the man was a drunk.

“I’ll check, okay?” She offered anyway. Momo turned so her back was against the door and she could slide down it into a heap on the faded carpet, Nayeon felt a prick of worry. “Momo.”

Had she ever said her name to her face? Or well, the side of her face. Nayeon wasn’t even sure she had ever even said the name aloud. It lived in her thoughts but this was the first time she had let it out into the open.

Her neighbor turned and another lazy smile was on her face.

“I was starting to think you didn’t remember it.” It seemed like an admission. “Thanks, but I can just stay here until he stumbles by. I’ll either be knocked out or wide awake.”

Nayeon hid a smile. “You’ll get mugged by college students.”

“I can take them.”

“You can’t sleep on a dirty carpet in wet clothes and with damp hair. You’ll wake up poor, unclean and with a cold.”

Momo laughed and Nayeon let her smile go. Momo laughed at a lot of the things she said, it never made Nayeon feel as if she wasn’t taken seriously though.

“What do you want me to do? Kick the door down? Because Sergio definitely wouldn’t pay to have it reinstalled.”

Nayeon silently agreed. Then a thought crossed her mind and she weighed the pros and cons just as silently. It wasn’t really that hard to decide when she remembered Momo would alternatively be sleeping in the cold hallway alone. On the floor.

“Come on.” She walked over to Momo, with the motorcycle helmet still dangling from her fingertips. “Let’s get you up.”

Her neighbor gave her a confused look as she was helped to her feet and Nayeon put an arm around her waist. The side of her body was now wet, but she didn’t really mind. She wordlessly walked the short distance to her apartment and guided Momo to her couch.

“Sit here while I shut the door and get some stuff for you.” Nayeon had enough experience with a drunk Jisoo and Chaeyoung to know what to do when someone was intoxicated and in her apartment. She looked across at Momo while she drew the latch on her door. Her neighbor – or friend? She wasn’t sure what to categorize Momo as anymore, but said woman had closed her eyes and Nayeon laughed to herself while the Japanese lolled to the side of her couch.

She quickly got some blankets and a pillow for her.

When she came back to the couch with a glass of water in her hand and a spoonful of honey, she tapped Momo’s arm. It was a tentative tap, she already felt weird enough after she had put her arm around her waist to help her in.

Momo stirred but she refused to open her eyes.

“Momo. I need you to drink this,” the woman didn’t acknowledge Nayeon. “Momo.” She rolled her eyes but had made her voice firmer.

Her neighbor had a slight smile on her face.

“You went from not saying my name at all to using it in almost every sentence.” She reluctantly pulled her body up and her eyes fluttered open warily to stare at Nayeon. Nayeon still didn’t understand how even with an unfocused and intoxicated gaze, Momo could still manage to make it seem like she was looking right into her – really seeing her. She was suddenly aware that she was in her pajamas and probably had messy hair after lounging about all day. As if her worries were heard, Momo smiled again. “Nice PJs.”

“Shut up and take this.” She held the spoon of honey out for Momo to eye with suspicion. “It’s only honey. You’ll thank me tomorrow.”

Her neighbor took it without too much resistance. She made a face as she swallowed the thick honey and eagerly grabbed the water Nayeon handed her next. As if she had completely exerted herself from those two simple acts, Momo fell back again with a groan.

Nayeon didn’t really care if Momo had gotten her couch dirty with her boots accidentally – she didn’t really care about the couch at all actually. Nayeon however did care that Momo was still in wet clothes and her hair was wet as well. The dark strands stuck to the side of her face and Nayeon’s fingers itched to smooth the choppy bangs back.

“I need you to get up and change into something a little dryer.” She said it lightly. Momo groaned again but didn’t refuse. “I left clothes in the bathroom and two towels – you can, _erm_ , use the second one for your hair.”

Momo didn’t look like she heard any of what Nayeon had said but she still walked towards the bathroom – their apartments had the same layout so it wasn’t exactly a task to find. Besides the fact that Momo was drunk of course.

The door to the bathroom didn’t close but Nayeon knew she had made it after she heard the wet clothes slap the tiles.

She looked down at the couch with a frown. It wasn’t very comfortable. She would hate for Momo to be uncomfortable and she had gotten her fair share of complaints from both Jisoo and Chaeyoung who had sore backs the next day after using it.

A decision was made and she moved the blankets and pillow to her room. Nayeon stripped the sheets on her bed then made it again with fresh ones. She put a pillow that was reserved for guests in the center of the bed and moved her old sheets to the couch.

When Momo reappeared by the couch in borrowed pajamas and her clothes in her hands with a bashful but still drunken smile, Nayeon smiled back at her.

“You okay?” She checked as she took the clothes from Momo and made a mental note to wash and dry them for her before she went to bed.

Momo nodded her head and a sleepy look was on her face. Nayeon made a noise of annoyance at the still wet hair.

“I told you to dry your hair. You’ll get a cold.”

Momo groaned. “Can’t I just sleep? I’m fine with having a cold.”

Nayeon shook her head and went back to the bathroom for the towel Momo had ignored.

“It’s freezing in here.” Momo said from the living room.

“Yeah well, Sergio promised to fix the heaters. Three years ago.” She came back out to find Momo halfway ready to sleep on the couch. She sighed. “Come on. I don’t let my guests sleep there.” A lie. She loved Jisoo and Chaeyoung dearly but she wouldn’t sacrifice her bed for them. They snuck into her room and slept with her anyway. Jisoo usually hogged the sheets. Chaeyoung would somehow end up with Nayeon's sheets, pillow and more than half of the bed.

Momo made a noise of protest as she was pulled up again.

“I really just want to pass out. Why do you keep preventing that?”

It was said so seriously that Nayeon couldn’t help but laugh at her.

“Why do you always question my help? I’m taking care of you. If you have a problem with it, I’ll happily direct you to the door and you can curl up on the carpet in the hall.”

They entered Nayeon’s room. The light was off and it left the room with only the yellow glow of her bedside lamp. Nayeon silently thanked the boredom that struck her earlier in the day that inspired her to clean the entire apartment. She was naturally a little messy.

Momo sat on the side of her bed with her eyes closed and her limbs almost completely useless.

Nayeon raised the towel to her neighbor’s head and dried her hair gently. Momo smiled a little but said nothing about it.

Once Nayeon had put a hand on top of Momo’s head and felt that it was dry, she absently did what her fingers itched to do since she saw her, and smoothed her hair back. Momo leaned into the touch and it only encouraged Nayeon to keep running her hands through her hair soothingly.

“This is a long way from hating me.” Momo said softly.

Nayeon had started to wonder if she ever truly hated Momo. Sure, the woman got on her nerves repeatedly and she definitely hadn’t _liked_ her – but hate? She wasn’t so sure anymore. A part of her felt like she had only clung to her supposed hatred of the woman because she wasn’t happy with herself at the time. She needed someone to outwardly dislike. Someone that had practically been asking for it. Maybe she had envied Momo because of how unapologetic she was about the way she lived. 

Her fingers stilled in the woman’s hair and she felt a shiver run through her after Momo opened her eyes to stare at her.

She didn’t say anything, her eyes just openly observed Nayeon.

The latter shifted as she always did under the intense gaze and her hand fell back to her own side.

“What?”

Momo shook her head. “I’m happy you gave me a chance to know you. Despite what I ever said, I have always wanted to know you.”

Nayeon’s eyes darted back and forth between both of the earnest brown ones that looked right back at her.

“I think –,” should she say this? Then again, would Momo even remember if she did? Nayeon started again. “I think you’re the first person that knew so much about me before we even spoke. No one has paid attention to me like that.” Which was true. It was the whole reason why Nayeon was such an outspoken rebel of a child and teen – she never had a close relationship with her parents and she definitely didn’t make the right friends before college.

Momo had probably been the first person to not have to talk to Nayeon to understand her; and Momo did understand her. Just like how she understood Momo.

Maybe that was what unnerved Nayeon so much, now and before as well.

The woman closed her eyes again. The soft sound of the rain hitting the roof and the windows beside them created a calm circle of warmth in Nayeon’s room. It took the tension from her shoulders that had arrived ever since she let Momo into her apartment.

Her eyes scanned Momo’s gentle features – the pale skin, the dark lashes and pink lips that stood out against it. Nayeon’s eyes trailed down to Momo’s neck and she couldn’t help but appreciate the smooth expanse of her chest that was visible. The shirt she had given Momo was a spaghetti strap pajama top and it was a thin material – so thin that if Nayeon’s eyes kept lowering against her will, she would easily make out each cup of Momo’s breasts.

She pulled herself away from the bed in a jolt. It was so sudden that she had made Momo’s eyes open in a confused haze.

Nayeon cleared her throat and avoided the woman’s eyes.

What was she doing? She wasn’t the type to just ogle drunk girls – she definitely wasn’t the type to ogle friends either. Or whatever Momo was to her.

“Shout if you need anything.” She smiled but it was barely aimed in the other woman’s direction. “Goodnight.”

Nayeon was halfway through her door and closing it when she heard Momo’s voice.

“Leave it open.”

So she nodded and left it opened.

Nayeon closed her laptop after she sat back on her couch. A hundred different things swirled around in her mind – the main thoughts were that she was acutely aware of the fact that her neighbor was sleeping in her bed. That was enough to fluster her all on its own – but Momo asleep in _her_ bed, wearing _her_ clothes and that fucking shirt – why the hell did she choose that shirt? It showed too much of Momo’s soft looking skin. Too much of her chest – _god_ if Nayeon had even just looked down for a second.

She shook her thoughts away. They weren’t right, not in the slightest. There was no way it could be okay to think about Momo like that. Friend or not.

Nayeon moved onto her back and pulled the sheet over her. The couch was uncomfortable and the rain seemed to be the only thing she could focus on that wouldn’t bring a blush to her cheeks.

Slightly less frazzled, Nayeon fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Eggs were plated and toast was on the side. Nayeon poured orange juice instead of her usual coffee...then she thought about if Momo would actually prefer the coffee. Did Momo like coffee? Did she like orange juice or even eggs?

Nayeon had strictly avoided making bacon because well – did Momo like bacon? What if she was deeply offended by even the sight of it? Plenty people weren’t happy to eat pork and that was fine by Nayeon; she just didn’t want to make any mistakes with Momo.

A weird feeling swarmed Nayeon’s stomach and she looked towards the opened door of her bedroom again, anxious. There was a clear outline of someone asleep with the covers almost kicked all the way off their body. Nayeon bit back a smile.

She had woken up at an alarmingly early time given the fact that it was a Sunday and she had nothing to do until the evening – Chihuahua Girl had invited her to see a movie and she accepted it carelessly. The girl was funny, blonde and exuberant, Nayeon decided to give her another chance. Maybe this time she would start to feel the butterflies she had never felt with her. Maybe this time she could find more descriptors for her as well since Chaeyoung was getting tired of hearing the same three every time she asked.

Nayeon came to terms with the fact that her body probably woke her up early because of Momo. She didn’t want her neighbor to wake up first and feel awkward about being there; no good host would. Her worry was normal. The jittery feeling she was suffering from was normal as well.

The eggs and toast sat idly on the blue plates and Nayeon made a small noise of frustration.

She decided to scrap the whole breakfast. Why should she even assume that Momo wanted to stay long enough to eat in her apartment?

Her neighbor’s clothes were already neatly folded and on the couch after being washed and dried first thing in the morning. Sunday had brought sunshine with it and the rain and dark clouds had receded into nothingness. Momo was free to come straight out of Nayeon's bedroom, spot the clothes that awaited her and then leave after a quick _'thank you!'_.

The chair opposite her at her little round table in the kitchen was pulled back while Nayeon was busy looking out of the window. It was as if Momo could sense that her chance of a readily prepared breakfast was about to be nonexistent and had woken up immediately. She watched a sleepy and barely awake Momo take huge gulps of the orange juice.

Nayeon was nervous to speak. What should she say? Momo hadn’t said anything, so maybe Momo wanted to be left in silence. Nayeon didn’t even touch her eggs while Momo put the now empty glass back down.

“Good morning.” And that was all it took for Nayeon to exhale steadily through her nose and her back to rest against the chair the way it was intended to.

Nayeon picked her fork up.

“Morning. How’s your head?”

The woman shrugged and sent Nayeon a smile. Her hair was a little messy from all her tossing and turning but all Nayeon could focus on was how _not_ out of place Momo looked sitting opposite her eating breakfast.

“Pretty good, thank you by the way.”

Nayeon didn’t know exactly what she was being thanked for. Whether it was giving her the old trick of honey and a glass of water after a night of drinking or a bed to sleep in... or the eggs and toast that Momo ate contentedly.

“No problem.” She decided that was the best answer, because whatever Momo was thanking her for was probably something she was more than happy to do for her. “More juice?” She looked down at the empty glass and Momo gave her a closed lipped smile as she chewed and nodded her head.

“Sorry if it’s a plain breakfast. I just don’t really know your stance on meat or anything – and I didn’t know if you liked coffee or not and water seemed like the best bet but then I saw the orange juice and figured-”

She shut her mouth after she finished pouring the juice and looked up to an impish smile.

Momo drank some of the juice and Nayeon busied herself with her toast.

“I like meat. Not a big fan of coffee though, so good call on the orange juice.”

Nayeon met her stare and got the distinct feeling that Momo was teasing her.

“Right.” She stuck more eggs in her mouth so she didn’t have to say anything else.

During their breakfast, Nayeon would sneak little glances at Momo. Her neighbor was fun to observe; the way she would nibble on a piece of toast and then use both her hands to eat it reminded Nayeon of the way a panda might eat the leaves of a plant. Momo’s fingers would wrap around the glass in the same fashion as well, using both hands to do a one-handed job. It made Nayeon smile; this directly contrasted with how intimidating her neighbor looked in her usual leather ensemble. 

“Sorry for last night.” The other woman said after her plate was empty. She kept her eyes on Nayeon and the latter felt that weird feeling in her stomach again, the anxious fluttering. “I feel like I forced you to let me stay here.”

Nayeon rolled her eyes because of course Momo had manners _now_ of all the times to have them.

“If anything, I forced you to stay here. You were pretty intent on staying in the hallway until Sergio passed by.” Nayeon smiled behind her glass.

She suspected that Momo was so intoxicated she didn’t remember a thing from the previous night. Which made her a little happy in a way – she was admittedly embarrassed about how much she had said to the other woman. It wasn’t like Nayeon to bare her true thoughts like that. Chaeyoung practically had to squeeze her for just a general idea on how she felt.

“I doubt he’s even home yet. I could still go out there and wait for him.”

Nayeon laughed. “I spoke to him.” She got up and went over to kitchen counter where she had deposited the new key. “He’ll have to get another set made but he gave you this for now.”

Momo smiled and she took it from her. Their fingers brushed and without intending to, Nayeon hadn’t released her hold on the key. Momo looked up at her and Nayeon got lost in the twinkling eyes. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen eyes like Momo’s – they seemed to have the ability to pull you closer. Nayeon felt like they were a nice trap to be caught in. A pretty maze to wander about in without caring about actually escaping it.

She broke the eye contact first but she still felt Momo’s stare on her after she put some space between them and retreated to the kitchen counter under the guise of washing their plates.

“Thank you again.” Momo said. The chair moved back again and Nayeon felt the other woman behind her shortly after – even after a full night, Momo’s skin still smelt of peaches and something else that was just _Momo_. She saw the pale hand move in front of her and held her breath until the Japanese finally moved to stand beside her. “You should’ve let me help you with those.”

Nayeon waved her off with soapsuds on her hands as she picked Momo’s glass up next.

“Who knew you had so many manners?”

That received a roll of her neighbor’s eyes.

“I’m not impolite. I’m just not a pushover either for the sake of keeping the peace.”

She met the eyes that had been surveying her carefully.

“And I am?” Nayeon asked but she knew the answer. She was definitely half of a doormat when it came to the way she let people treat her – but that was only because she thought that was what she _had_ to be. Her mother was the same way.

Momo just smiled at her but it didn’t feel patronizing.

"Not anymore apparently." Momo held her new key up. "Maybe you can't get him to replace the heater but you did pretty well getting me a key in under twenty-four hours."

Nayeon's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she used her hair to hide her face because yeah, she had pretty much tracked a still half-drunk Sergio down and badgered him until he agreed to help her. In his intoxicated state he hadn't even questioned why Nayeon was the one asking for the spare key to Momo's apartment.

“I have a dance show this week. I’d like you to come.” Dark hair was swept back by nimble fingers and Nayeon swore Momo even broke the eye contact for a second. This week Momo had dark red nails and they tapped on the counter behind her. “I actually had the tickets for a week or so but I don’t know... I guess I wasn’t sure if you’d want to come.” She bit the inside of her cheek before releasing it and rushing more words. “You can bring a friend – I made sure I saved two in case you thought it would be boring.”

Nayeon stood stunned. The tap was still on but she had long finished washing the glass – in fact she had only kept washing it for something to do with her hands while Momo was so close to her. The woman made her frazzled at best and she didn’t understand why.

“Me?” It was a dumb question but Nayeon thought she would be the last person Momo would ask to be around her in a social setting. “You’re inviting me?” She even pointed a wet index finger towards her chest, leaving the area there on her shirt suddenly wet as well.

Her neighbor laughed at her. “Is it that hard to believe? If you don’t want to go there’s no pressure.” She looked calm but then her hands had started to fiddle with a cookbook Nayeon had never used (a housewarming gift from her mother after Nayeon had them over for lunch).

Nayeon raised an eyebrow.

“It would be interesting to see the reason why you felt the need to blast music until three in the morning sometimes. What should I do to you if you’re not any good?”

Momo looked at her and that impish smile returned but Nayeon could see the sincerity in it as well. It seemed like she actually did want Nayeon to show up.

“I’ll personally buy a bag of tomatoes right now and, if I suck, you can throw them at me on stage – I got you front row seats so there's no way you could miss.”

Nayeon laughed and finally shut the tap off. She dried her hands on a dish towel and leaned on the counter with her arms crossed beside her neighbor.

“Yeah?”

The other woman mimicked her actions.

“Yeah.”

“That’s a bit medieval, isn’t it?” Nayeon bit back her smile again. Momo let hers spread across her face easily. “Plus I have a shitty aim and I might hit one of the other performers.”

“I’m doing a solo performance, so no worries there. There’ll be no one to hit but me.”

“Solo, huh? I guess that implies you’re pretty good.”

“You should still come see for yourself, shouldn’t you?” Her neighbor moved away from the counter and stood so she faced Nayeon. It was a very trying effort to not let her eyes dip down to Momo’s chest. “A month ago you would’ve jumped at the opportunity to assault me with vegetables.”

Nayeon’s smile faltered but she didn’t let it slip from her face completely. The fact that it was true didn't sit well with her.

“A month ago you wouldn’t even have been in my apartment... with the chance to invite me to throw vegetables at you.”

Momo laughed at that, as if she had caught on to Nayeon’s slight inference.

“Are you saying that my getting drunk was all part of a master plan?”

Nayeon nodded. “I wouldn’t put it past you. After all, you did say you wanted to get to know me for a while – maybe you saw an opening.”

She had no idea if Momo would even understand the reference to their conversation the previous night. After all, Momo _had_ actually been drunk – there was no way to fake the smell of alcohol that had clung to her slightly or the unfocused glint in her eyes. For all she knew, the conversation was lost to Momo.

However, the other woman surprised her with a smile that discarded its malevolent edge and took on something a lot softer, warmer.

“I did say that, and I still mean that.” She turned her back on Nayeon and headed towards the couch where her clothes were, and Nayeon got to watch her neighbor pad around her house as if she was accustomed to being there every day. “I’ll stop by with the tickets.”

Then she picked her clothes up from the couch and gave Nayeon another smile, her long dark hair falling over her shoulder and her choppy bangs on forehead. The sunlight floating through the window a little ways away from her couch danced around Momo and made her pale skin look even more inviting to the touch. Her eyes shone, even with the distance between them, and Nayeon felt the pull to wordlessly follow Momo wherever those eyes would take her. 

“Okay?”

Nayeon nodded her head and exhaled. She had been holding her breath a lot lately - admittedly only when she was around the other woman. It was a constant tense feeling that made her unsure of what exactly she was anticipating.

“Okay.”

:

Chihuahua Girl had been extra chatty that evening. Nayeon felt like the girl had gotten a hint that maybe the connection wasn’t as mutual as she thought. The attraction however, was a completely different story. Blonde and with a toned body from all those jogs in the park with her ratty dog, she was actually Nayeon’s ideal type.

Therefore, it really didn’t take a genius to figure out why Nayeon had let the woman lead her into her bed with kisses that started from her lips, down her neck and finally, with a soft push so Nayeon's back met her soft bed - down her stomach.

It was good. It was great actually, what wasn’t there to like about sex with a beautiful woman? Maybe the fact that Nayeon had left the woman’s apartment wiping lipstick smudges off her arms and feeling just a little bit like trash.

Why exactly did she feel like trash? She wasn’t sure. Chihuahua girl didn’t seem like she had been led on – she was actually the one to initiate all the touches and kisses and in the end, she was the one that had walked Nayeon to the door with a satisfied smile and a promise to call her.

Nayeon placed two fingers on her lips and remembered the searing kiss that she was given before she left.

She had waited and waited...and then waited some more – but those stupid fireworks never erupted. She didn’t feel anything before, during or after a kiss from a beautiful girl who clearly liked her. She made a mental note to question Chaeyoung about how truthful she had been when she described her experience with them.

Nayeon tugged her coat around her and ran a hand through the brown curls on her head that were probably a little wild looking now. People passed her on the street and she walked by the familiar seedy bar by her complex, Sergio was slumped in his usual seat. Everything was so damn _normal_. She just had sex with a girl that liked her for crying out loud, _something_ should feel different by now. 

She climbed the stairs and her fingers touched her lips again.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

 _Funny, blonde, exuberant_...great in bed, too, so why didn’t she feel a thing afterwards? Why didn’t she stay the night when she was offered?

A firm hold on her waist prevented her from falling onto the dirty carpet she hated so much. Nayeon hadn’t even registered that she had bumped into someone until she looked up into Momo’s worried eyes.

“What are you doing?”

Nayeon almost laughed at the question – in a general sense, she had asked herself the same thing repeatedly on her walk home.

“I was walking. Then something walked into me.”

Momo let out a short laugh, filled with incredulity.

“Walked into _you_?” She shook her head but her grip didn’t loosen. Nayeon felt that weird feeling in her stomach again; it reminded her of their previous onslaught of rain. A constant _pitter patter_ in her lower stomach that eventually grew into a harsh downpour.

“This isn’t the next step of your master plan, is it? I already agreed to throw tomatoes at you – I mean, go to your show. You didn’t have to pretend to bump into me.”

Momo steadied her with a smile on her face before she released her hold. Nayeon had to make sure Momo had actually let go because she could still clearly feel her hands around her; but Momo’s hands were at her sides.

“It wasn’t pretend. If I had purposely bumped into you, you would be on the floor.”

Nayeon smiled and shook her head. “Think highly of your strength, don’t you?” She got her key out and pushed it into her door. “So, why are you in the hallway in just your socks? Are you locked out of your apartment again – or is this how you meet unsuspecting women?”

She opened her door and wasn’t disappointed when Momo walked in right after her and closed it.

“Seems I'm not the only one who thinks highly of themselves. You just insinuated I purposely bumped into you in order to hit on you.” Momo followed her into her kitchen.

Nayeon placed a glass under the tap and let it be filled halfway with water before she brought it to her lips.

“So you agree that you think highly of yourself?"

Momo looked at her and then her eyes fell to Nayeon’s neck.

“Fun night?”

Nayeon’s eyebrows were furrowed in confusion before she remembered where exactly she had just came from. A pang of guilt should've shot through her at how quickly she could just forget the girl.

“You could say that.”

She threw the last bit of water out before she placed her purse on the kitchen table with an exasperated sigh.

“What? You seem upset for someone who clearly just had sex.” Momo had that teasing lilt in her voice again and Nayeon wanted to take it all in good fun, but she actually was upset.

Why couldn’t she just _like_ someone? Really like someone. Like them so much that when she thought about them more than three things came to mind. So much that she could describe them in full detail without having to even look at them. Would she tell Chaeyoung that she slept with the girl? Nayeon decided against that right away – the badgering wasn’t worth it.

“Oh, you _are_ upset. What’s wrong?”

Nayeon hated that. Or at least she wanted to.

How could Momo tell so easily? Was it just written across her face? If so why did Chihuahua Girl not question the look she gave her as she was walked to the door and promised a date later in the week.

“I don’t know.” It was the truth. She had no clue why she felt so empty after the best sex of her life. “Do you ever feel like no matter how much you get or give, it’ll never be enough?”

Her eyes were stuck on Momo’s while she walked backwards to her couch. Momo followed with a small smile on her lips.

“It’s a familiar feeling lately. Be careful walking like that.”

Nayeon stuck her tongue out as she finally felt the back of her calf connect with the couch.

“Why? You can just catch me again.” She sat and patted the spot next to her, Momo obliged and sat. “Can I ask a personal question?”

Her neighbor turned her body so she was directly facing her. It reminded Nayeon of earlier that morning when Momo had done the same thing. She got the flash of another memory of Momo turning to face her as they talked outside of their apartments. That had been a time where they weren't even slightly friendly with each other, but Momo had leaned her head on the space between the door and just stared at her with a smile. Nayeon wasn’t sure if it was a habit of Momo’s to give her full attention to things or if it was just for her, but she liked it.

She turned her body fully as well, both of them sat with their legs pulled under them on the couch in the low lighting of Nayeon’s apartment. They hadn’t moved to turn any of the overhead ones on and what was left were the two lamps Nayeon had switched on before she left.

“By all means.”

Nayeon’s lip twitched at the familiar answer.

“Were you in love with that woman?”

It was a loaded question that probably wasn’t anywhere near her business, but Nayeon was curious about it since Momo had divulged a little information about their relationship a couple days prior.

She wanted Momo to say yes. To explain what she felt and how she felt it and what came before and after those feelings – she wanted to know what she was doing wrong. Why _Love,_ in all its sought after glory, had been avoiding her.

Momo tilted her head at her. Nayeon got worried she had overstepped until Momo finally answered.

“No.”

Nayeon searched her eyes and found honesty there that she was oddly happy about despite her previous hopes a second ago.

“No?” Nayeon repeated.

“No.” Momo confirmed.

“You were heartbroken for two months after!”

Nayeon had no idea why she was arguing with Momo about who _she_ thought she was in love with. It made no sense at all, but her neighbor just smiled at her.

“Because I did love her and it hurt that I wasn’t enough for her, but I wasn’t _in_ love.” She pulled at a loose string on her pants. “I had jumped into that... _relationship_ straight away after being dumped by someone else. I think for a while I forgot that I was actually worth a lot more than she had offered.”

Nayeon took the words in. She stared at the woman opposite her, confused and a little more upset than she had been before. 

Momo wore a white band t-shirt, it had stylish holes that she wasn't sure about in terms of purposefulness, with a black pair of shorts that showed off her legs nicely. Her dark hair hung around her shoulders and it contrasted nicely with the stark whiteness of the shirt. Her face was bare, eyes half lidded and her pink lips slightly parted while she looked back at Nayeon.

Momo was irrevocably beautiful. Beautiful didn't even seem like enough to describe the woman sitting opposite her.

Who would dump Momo? Someone so smart, honest, caring, witty, talented (or so she said) (Nayeon secretly believed her) and not to mention so clearly pure in the way she loved with everything she had. Nayeon knew that the tough leather wearing biker was very valid, hell she saw her first hand - but then there was the Momo sitting on her couch in fuzzy socks and with red and blue clips in her hair, that had the habit of fiddling with things - like the loose string on her shorts and the cookbook she had thumbed through this morning.

Who couldn't love Momo until it was enough for her? Until she was deeply satisfied and had no room to ask for more.

Her neighbor laughed and Nayeon felt her cheeks take on a pink tint.

“It just means they weren’t the right ones.”

“Very optimistic.” Nayeon laughed a little as well. “You don’t seem like the type to believe in _the right one_.”

“Yeah well,” she met twinkling eyes, “you’re just getting to know me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was supposed to only be 6 parts but I didn't want to make this one too long, so I broke them up


	7. Chapter 7

Monday night was weird for multiple reasons. The main one being the set of flowers that awaited Nayeon at her door.

She eyed them warily and bent to pick the bouquet up. They were all an assortment of different colors and scents and Nayeon held them at arms length as if one of them would suddenly grow teeth and attack her. Normally, she would be over the moon from the gesture of someone sending her flowers alone, but she didn’t feel a thing except disappointment about _who_ had sent them.

Steps on the stairs diverted her deep confusion to them and she turned to see her neighbor looking exhausted and more than ready for bed. Her eyes brightened upon seeing Nayeon however. Then she eyed the bouquet.

“Secret admirer?” She asked as she stood next to her. The brunette frowned and returned her lackluster gaze to the flowers. She heard Momo pop her gum. Smelt the flavor she could only describe as pink.

“Or someone that wants to see me break out in hives.” Nayeon shoved the flowers towards her neighbor. “Here, _chingchan_ in advance.”

Momo took the flowers with a laugh and a bow then eased a white card from between one of the orange petals. She thumbed it curiously and handed it over without saying much but there was a slight frown on her face.

“Have the card.” She held the bouquet up. “Thank you. I guess this means you have no doubts in my dancing abilities anymore since you’ve praised me in advance.”

With a short laugh, Nayeon turned to her door and unlocked it.

“Maybe. Although, I still reserve my right to be equipped with tomatoes, just in case.”

Momo laughed and Nayeon turned just to see the way her smile would widen and her eyes would turn into crescent-like shapes. It was just a laugh but it never failed to make Nayeon’s breath hitch each time she saw or heard it.

“Coming in?” Nayeon nodded towards her door with a smile. She had just gotten home from a long day of work, but there was still nothing she wanted more than Momo’s company. All throughout her day, Nayeon wondered how she could invite the woman inside; she was nervous about seeming too attached since Momo had spent most of the weekend inside her apartment. It was never a good idea to get too attached.

Momo had that impish smile on her face as she observed Nayeon and blew a new bubble. Nayeon shifted. The gum popped.

“I would but I really need to shower.” She made a face. “I just came from a four hour practice. I reek.”

Nayeon resisted the urge to pout. Momo smelt fine to her.

“Working you hard for the big show?” She asked instead – a cheap way to get Momo to stick around a little longer and talk to her.

If Momo saw through her antics, she didn’t mention it.

“Very. I’m so excited for the actual show but I'm also exhausted – I don’t even think I can feel my legs anymore. It’s taking a lot not to just collapse onto this carpet.”

Nayeon shook her head and looked down on cue to the pale carpet in question.

“Resist that urge as best as you can.” She bit the inside of her cheek and sighed. Momo _did_ look tired and there _was_ a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead. Nayeon’s fingers moved to smooth her hair back for her. Momo stared into her eyes with the same intensity that she always had. Her eyes darted all over Nayeon’s face, looking for something, and Nayeon’s did the same. They found Momo’s red lips – redder than she had ever seen them. They then gave her a warm smile; it really was the most inviting thing Nayeon had ever witnessed.

She held her breath and tried not to focus on the sudden thought that came to her: _what would it be like to kiss Momo?_

She jerked her hand back and stepped closer to her door. She was practically pushed against it. Momo raised an eyebrow at her, the smile returned to its usual mischievous one, and her eyes took on a familiar glint. Nayeon wasn’t sure exactly what Momo always seemed to find in her eyes, but whatever it was made her smile.

“I’ll let you go relax. Take it easy.” She was eager to get away now and put even more space between them. Her face was on fire and Momo's stupid pretty eyes were tempting her to go closer again.

Momo smiled. Just like that. 

“Come over. In another thirty minutes or so.” _pop_.

Nayeon frowned. “No, you need sleep not a guest.” _And I need to not think about kissing you again_.

Momo laughed and Nayeon’s frown melted away with the sound that bounced off the walls of the empty hallway. _pop_.

“You make it sound so formal, you know? Thirty minutes, Nayeon.”

The other woman turned to her own apartment after that, flowers and key in hand. Nayeon just shook her head and stepped inside her own. Just like that.

When Nayeon knocked on the door there was a shout of _'it's unlocked!'_ from the other side of it.

She stepped in with a roll of her eyes. "You really shouldn't leave your door unlocked."

She heard the woman laugh and looked towards the noise.

"I'll be out in a minute. Just sit and read a book or something - or stand guard at the door if you want."

"Funny."

Nayeon looked around Momo's apartment. It was a lot like hers - and not just in the sense of its layout.

Momo's walls held no pictures and there were no knickknacks from vacations abroad. The only thing Momo's apartment had that Nayeon's didn't to personalize it, was the white ball of energy that surged towards Nayeon at top speed.

Nayeon shrieked and ran from it in surprise. She ended up on top of Momo's couch in her bunny slippers and a firm hold on a magazine for protection.

Momo walked out of a room to the left after Nayeon's scream. It took her two seconds to take in the situation before her face broke out into a grin at Nayeon's expense.

"You big baby. He doesn't bite. You're twice his size, Nayeon." 

Nayeon sent her a glare even though the big puppy eyes that looked up at her were more curious than threatening.

"Do I even want to know how you got a dog in here? Aren't all pets against the rules?" It was hardly a question that needed answering after she saw the mischievous smile on Momo's face.

She laughed and came to stand by the couch as well. She bent her knees and rubbed behind the pup's ear with an affectionate smile on her face.

"I know but I found it outside of the dance studio two days ago just wandering around for food. He looked so sad, I couldn't leave him alone."

Nayeon remained on the couch as she watched Momo handle the dog with care. She hadn't heard a yelp or bark for the two days that the dog was there.

"How does a dog make less noise than you?" She muttered the question but Momo shot her a risen eyebrow.

"What was that?"

Nayeon smiled. "I said, that dog is really cute."

Momo just shook her head and stood to her full height. 

Nayeon took in the shorts that were snug on her hips and the tank top that was tight around her bust. The outfit did nothing to aid Nayeon's strong want to not think about kissing her neighbor. Nothing at all.

"You ready to come down from there now?"

Nayeon's cheeks flushed and she crossed her arms indignantly.

"Maybe not. I was almost attacked, you know."

Her neighbor laughed and stepped forward. Her hands were around Nayeon's waist faster than the older girl could react and she was lifted down and onto the floor.

"I'll protect you from now on." She tucked a piece of hair behind Nayeon's ear and Nayeon was too focused on the warmth that spread through her to question when exactly they had become so comfortable with each other. "For someone so obsessed with manners and forced social etiquette, you have no reservations about standing on furniture that isn't yours."

Momo was teasing her again.

Nayeon rolled her eyes and the younger girl moved away with a laugh.

“Shouldn’t you be happier? This means I’m comfortable enough with you to ruin your security deposit.”

Momo shook her head and walked back to where Nayeon knew the bathroom was.

“Can I dry my hair without you jumping on my kitchen counter next?” She looked around until she spotted the mass of white fluff. “He really won’t bite. I’m sorry I forgot to mention him. I'm sort of too good at keeping secrets now.”

Nayeon shook her head, she knew it was a slight jab at Momo's former... _lover_.

“It’s okay, I was just surprised. I had two dogs growing up so I’m not afraid of them or anything.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to convince me.” She turned and Nayeon’s eyes fell on her back and watched until she was in the bathroom again.

Nayeon sat on the couch. It wasn’t long before something was in her lap without a stutter and she looked down to see the dog make itself at home there.

“I hope she gave you a bath...” Nayeon muttered but she still raised her hand to scratch its head. She smiled at the little lick she received on her finger. “Thanks. Does he have a name?” She said the last part louder so Momo could hear her.

“No, I didn’t want to get attached.”

Nayeon mused that her and Momo had many similar ways of thinking.

“Hmm.” She hummed as she looked at the little guy. He had short white fur and the smallest of brown dots scattered across his chest in a _V_ formation. Nayeon smiled at it. “He reminds me of the dog I used to have back home.”

Momo walked out with dry hair and made her way towards the kitchen next.

“What was that one called?”

“Mr. Dog.”

Momo came back with two cans of something and a family sized bag of chips in her arms.

“Eh?” She placed the snack and drinks down in front of them on the coffee table. “Am I missing a translation here?”

Nayeon shook her head and laughed despite how ridiculous she sounded.

“My mom let me name him and that was what my four year old brain picked.”

Momo smiled at that and finally settled next to Nayeon on the couch. She was close; Nayeon could feel their elbows touch occasionally as Momo got comfortable and picked a remote up. The couch smelled like peaches and Nayeon relaxed further into it.

“I had a cat growing up even though I preferred dogs. She was called Pinkie.”

“And you dared make fun of me?” Nayeon’s fingers ran over the pup’s smooth fur. “I think if we _were_ to name him, his name should be something like Spark.”

Nayeon hoped the other woman didn't notice that she had insinuated they would name him together. Why did she even _want_ to name random dogs that Momo had smuggled into their building?

Momo made a face at the name and flicked through shows.

“Spark? No. I’d give him an English name. I’ve always wanted a pet with an English name – like Max! He would be a nice Max.”

Nayeon laughed at the excited look on Momo’s face. Maybe that was why she wanted to name random dogs with Momo; there was a smile on her face that Nayeon had rarely seen. It felt familiar still in a sense. It was the same smile Momo gave her as they sat and ate breakfast together in her kitchen.

“Max is a nice name.” She would probably agree to anything to keep that light in Momo’s eyes. “If we were to name you, it would be Max, buddy.”

The dog licked her finger again and she chuckled.

“He likes you.”

She turned to see Momo’s fond gaze directed at her. Her fingers had still their efforts in finding something to watch.

“You think so?” Nayeon didn’t know how else to respond.

“Mm.” Momo nodded. Her fingers fell behind his ear again and Nayeon could’ve sworn they brushed against her own hand intentionally. It sent small shocks along her arm and she held her breath while Momo looked at her again. “We both do.”

Then she removed her hand and continued her previous task.

“Let’s start a series together – that way you have to come over every once in a while so we can finish it.”

Nayeon felt her stomach flutter and she smiled at the not so subtle request. Then again she never knew her neighbor for her subtlety. 

“What has the most seasons?”

She received a laugh and another shot of Momo’s light filled eyes.

It was at least two hours later when all the chips were halfway gone (Momo said she deserved it after working so hard) (Nayeon encouraged her because Momo held each chip with both hands while she ate them) and Momo's head was on her lap while they watched the on screen kiss between the main characters. The dog that Nayeon was admittedly already attached to was somewhere to the left of them on the floor asleep. The kiss on the television wasn't what made Nayeon's mind swarm with thoughts of kissing Momo.

Nayeon's hands ran through Momo's hair gently and she saw the younger girl's eyes close more than once.

"What about you?" Momo suddenly asked.

"Hm?" She answered softly. They talked all throughout the show - so much so that Nayeon wasn't even sure what it was about. Maybe witches or something else supernatural. She kept her voice low because Momo had turned the lights off and the room had been quiet for a good five minutes while the characters went through their lives. Nayeon would look down to find Momo's eyes already on her sometimes. Other times she would stare until Momo caught her instead.

"Have you ever been in love? You asked me the other day and it got me thinking."

"About if I had ever been in love?" Nayeon asked with amusement dripping from her voice. She twirled Momo's silky dark strands around her index finger. She felt her stomach twist at the fact that Momo was thinking about her at all.

Momo laughed a little and turned to face her again. This time she laid on her back and stared up at Nayeon with those twinkling eyes.

"You're the worst person to watch a show with."

"And you're fascinating to distract." Momo smiled. "Have you?"

Nayeon bit the inside of her cheek. She felt pathetic that she had never really had a love that was worth while. It stung.

"No. Never."

Momo looked perplexed at that.

"That's hard to believe. People should be falling over themselves to get to your heart."

She scratched Momo's head and smiled because it was much more complicated than that. It was precisely her heart that was the problem.

"Count yourself lucky that you're so easy to love."

Only Momo seemed to realize the significance of what Nayeon said.

:

What if little girls were made to be seen and heard all at once? What if there were no reprimands for speaking too loudly indoors or speaking out of turn? Not that it would be any use to her now, but Nayeon figured she would’ve preferred it if that was her world instead when she was growing up. She could still hear her mother’s wary voice that told her to choose her battles with adults – voice her thoughts when it could actually change something.

She used to think her mother gave the best advice. Until she was a woman and still had doubts about whether she _should_ be seen and heard. Sometimes her mother’s voice still rang through her ears when she would speak up against other people's opinions. It was shrill and commanding. 

“Nayeon!”

Her head turned in the middle of the busy street and people continued to walk the opposite way passed her. A few elbows brushed hers and she gritted her teeth – what was so hard about excuse me? Granted, she had stopped suddenly in the middle of a busy street. She let it go.

The voice that stopped her said her name again, then the owner clad in workout gear and heavy breathing showed her face and all Nayeon was instantly aware of was that there was no dog with her.

“Ji-yoo.” If Nayeon sounded overly surprised, there was nothing she could do about it.

The girl breathed through her nose and looked at Nayeon with a smile and her hands on her hips.

“I thought you fell off the face of the earth. Haven’t heard from you since...” The sentence trailed off.

Nayeon’s face heated up and it was more so from shame than embarrassment. She hadn’t called the girl after their last encounter at her apartment; she knew how that must’ve looked. She hadn't even called and thanked her for the (unwanted) flowers. She made them a pretty home by the windowsill in Momo's kitchen. Or at least she directed Momo on how to do it while she watched from a distance. 

More people hustled by them and Nayeon’s elbow was bumped again. She made a face at the back of the offender while expectant eyes stayed on her.

“Yeah, sorry,” this was the part where Nayeon should’ve done the adult thing – set the record straight because she didn’t like her as anything more than a companion at best. However, it turned out being an adult was only easy if you were letting people hurt you and not doing the hurting. “Work has been hectic.”

Then the girl smiled at her and tilted her head in the direction Nayeon was walking.

“I’ll walk you.” 

Nayeon wanted to ask her if she looked like the ratty Chihuahua the girl paraded around but she held her tongue. 

She smiled back at her instead. She switched the hand of her briefcase when she noticed the girl’s pinky finger brush against hers. She should’ve said no, should’ve broken it to her in the middle of that street. Or maybe she could’ve led her to the side where the new little cafe had opened up – it would’ve been easier. She could buy the girl one of those vegan muffins she liked so much (god forbid she offered her any of the meat cakes) and gotten her a pretty colored smoothie or something since she was so opposed to caffeine.

They walked in mostly silence. It was loud with everyone that rushed passed their way, so it was far from awkward. Nayeon noticed the girl’s eyes on her every now and then when she would ask a question and Nayeon would smile and return the gaze while she answered. It was a lot of talk about their respective jobs and what they had done between the days they hadn’t kept in contact. Which wasn’t much on Nayeon’s part, but she beefed up the truth to help her earlier lie. Nayeon agreed to go see a movie with her later that night; maybe there she could put a stop to things.

By the time they reached Nayeon’s apartment complex, she had held the door open for Nayeon and shocked her by accompanying her up the steps.

They stopped in front of Nayeon’s door and Chihuahua-less Girl smiled at her again.

“Thank you for walking me. I hope I didn’t interrupt your workout.” Nayeon leaned a shoulder on her door. She had no idea what the girl’s intentions were. Did she want to be invited inside for a repeat of Sunday or something?

The girl just waved her off. “It’s fine. The run I had to do to catch up with you more than made up for it.”

Nayeon forced a polite laugh and prepared to say something else, but boots met the stairs in a loud sound that made sure they received attention and her head turned obediently towards it. A wide smile stretched across her face at the sight of the other woman – back in her usual leather attire and that smug look she pulled off so well. 

Momo’s eyes swept over to Chihuahua Girl, then back to Nayeon casually.

When she reached the pair, she stopped in front of Nayeon with her helmet tucked under her arm and her eyes directly on her.

“Nayeon,” She greeted with a nod of her head. Then she turned to look at Chihuahua Girl again. “Is this the infamous Chaeyoung?” She asked but Nayeon knew she knew what Chaeyoung looked like.

Her brows furrowed in confusion but she just shook her head and smiled. It was somewhat awkward now. Usually Chihuahua Girl had no problem talking and filling empty spaces and usually Momo had no problem introducing herself to strangers.

“No, Momo this is Ji-yoo. Ji-yoo, Momo.”

Nayeon realized that she had hardly mentioned the other girl to Momo. Their time together was mainly spent talking about other things. Things said in low voices in one of their apartments. Things Nayeon wouldn't even feel comfortable mentioning to anyone else - Chaeyoung included.

But she had complained to the blonde about Momo on their second date. Then, Momo had been directly referred to as Nayeon's neighbor and nothing more. Just how Momo only knew her as Chihuahua Girl.

Both of them stared at each other for a while. Chihuahua Girl was the first one to make the smile on her face even wider and offer Momo a slight bow.

“Oh. The neighbor.” She decided to class Momo as that: just the neighbor. “Nice to meet you.”

Nayeon raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar tone her voice had taken on. She had never heard that one before.

Momo had bowed back but she didn’t bother with the smile until she turned to Nayeon again.

“I’ll see you tonight?”

Nayeon was confused until she remembered that Momo’s dance show was that evening.

The beautiful woman had an equally as charming smile on her face while she looked at her and Nayeon wanted to go to a million of her shows just to see it.

“What else is tonight?” Chihuahua Girl spoke again and popped the bubble that had began to form around them.

Nayeon and Momo turned their heads to her but it was Momo The Neighbor who answered.

“I have a performance tonight.”

“Really. Nayeon agreed to go with me to the movies later.” Chihuahua Girl – _Ji-yoo_ – turned to look at her with a quizzical look on her face. “Double booked, Nayeon-ah?”

Nayeon’s eyes widened despite her best efforts. Her first thought was an expletive, followed closely by admonishing herself for being such a careless idiot. How did it not register with her that today was Momo’s show? How? When she had looked at the stiff, short red and blue pieces of paper since she received them days ago.

Momo looked at her as well, but the Japanese’s eyebrows were pinched in bemusement before a flash of hurt crossed her features.

“You forgot the dance.”

Nayeon wanted to bang her head against a wall until the image of Momo giving her that look was completely erased from her mind. The impact might’ve ridden her of all her other memories as well, but it was a risk worth taking.

Chihuahua Girl spoke again and Nayeon halfway wanted to tape her mouth closed.

“Nayeon, I’m kind of thirsty. You mind if I get a glass of water?”

She looked from Nayeon to the door behind them and waited. Nayeon was happy the girl was making herself scarce because she needed to talk to Momo and explain things. Without the blonde hovering.

Once the girl was safely inside Nayeon’s apartment with directions on where to go, Nayeon turned to give the other woman her full attention.

“Momo.” She started but quickly realized she didn’t know how to go about saying what she wanted to. Momo just shook her head and looked at the faded carpet. Her dark hair shielded her face and Nayeon’s instinct to brush it back almost got the best of her. She tried to silently choose her words correctly, tried to sift through all the worthless apologies and excuses that Momo didn't deserve because with Momo, Nayeon could only tell the truth.

But she didn't know how to explain that she had only even said yes to Chihuahua Girl because she felt obligated to. That she felt bad about blowing her off after she had sex with her and then ignored her to spend all her evenings with Momo.

“Forget it. You got a better offer.” When she looked back up, she gave Nayeon a smile but Nayeon could see through it. She frowned. Momo was never one to fake her emotions for anyone. “Have a good time.”

Nayeon caught her by her shoulder before she had fully turned away. 

Momo looked at her and she tugged her smile back onto her face. Nayeon’s frown deepened.

“Stop that.” She released her grip, letting the other woman know she could still walk away if she wanted to.

“Stop what?” Momo’s eyes avoided hers and she reached into her jacket pocket with her free hand to pull out a pack of gum. Nayeon watched as she took a stick out and unwrapped it. She could already smell the mint.

“Be mad at me. I rather you be mad at me than smile in my face and pretend everything’s fine.”

Momo scoffed at that and popped the gum into her mouth.

“You got two offers and picked the better one.” Her eyes finally met Nayeon’s and she gave her a steeled glare. “In your words, there would be no point.”

They were enveloped in silence until someone came barreling up the stairs and brushed past Nayeon. He effectively knocked her elbow a little harshly but Nayeon was too used to letting it go to even look at him as he carried on.

"Hey, asshole," Momo's voice stopped the college student whose hands were filled with books. Momo turned her scowl towards him. "Watch where you're going. You almost took her arm off."

Nayeon's eyes widened and she looked at the boy to apologize but was beaten to it by his bow and frantic words.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry." He bowed again and looked at Nayeon for her next move.

"It's o-"

Momo gave her a look.

She sighed.

"Just be careful next time."

The boy nodded again and then looked to Momo. It was almost comical how fast he scampered away after Momo waved him off.

"You okay?" She stepped forward and took Nayeon's arm in her hand. It was gentle. A lot gentler than Nayeon deserved. Momo turned her arm in a slow and careful inspection as if the small brush of contact would've left a bruise. "Stop letting people do that. If someone hurts you, speak up. You can't just live your fucking life like you owe everyone everything. That's not how it works." Momo dropped her hand and severed the contact between them. 

Nayeon's voice was small in comparison. It didn't have the same edge that Momo's did. Momo had only ever sworn at her once before and she knew she had to have messed up immensely if she provoked the younger girl to do it.

"Take your own advice then." She struggled to get Momo to meet her eyes. "Speak up."

Quiet. Nayeon figured that was what it was. On the outside at least. The hallway was quiet. There was no sound from anywhere near them and even if there was Nayeon didn't hear it.

Because the inside was so loud. Every thump of her heart was felt as she waited for Momo to just _do_ something. Say something.

They stood staring at each other. Nayeon was going over all the things she could say to a person that had come to mean so much to her. Someone she clearly let down. Meanwhile Momo looked as though she was trying to work a puzzle out.

She took the initiative, as if she couldn’t bare the silence either.

The pale girl stepped forward and Nayeon’s senses were derailed by peach and mint and _Momo_. She shook her head.

“I told you it meant a lot to me. I don't know what to say when the only thing that keeps going through my mind is, what are you doing?”

The admission crushed her and the question caught her off guard. She wanted more than anything to have an instant answer. She wanted to _finally_ know what the fuck she was doing.

Nayeon went back and forth between the familiar brown eyes. They held a subdued anger that was emphasized by the downturn of Momo’s eyebrows and the frown she now wore.

“What?” Even though she had heard her clearly.

Momo laughed a little and then she brought her hand up. Nimble fingers brushed Nayeon’s brown hair back from her face and behind her ear. It was such a gentle and intimate act that Nayeon moved closer to her. Like a magnet. There was hardly any space between them as Momo held her cheek and her eyes lost the angry but weak fire that had been there; only burning out of stubbornness. Nayeon's eyes fell to her lips. They were even prettier today. Even when they were pulled down in a frown.

“I said, _what_ are you doing, hm? I'm not angry with you. Not really. I think I'm disappointed.” She said, honest as ever as she held Nayeon's eyes. "When are you going to live for you, _Nayeon-ah_?" It was a mock. Momo's voice went even softer. "You're easy to love too, you know."

Disappointing Momo hurt. Disappointing Momo without a good enough reason hurt even more. Though Nayeon doubted there would ever be a good enough reason. Momo was good enough to never have to be disappointed - Nayeon's thoughts were a fucking mess.

Nayeon didn’t know. Nayeon had no clue – she was lost. She was wandering around in an empty space that was too fucking big and too small all at once.

“Well?” Momo prodded. Her voice was softer now and suddenly Nayeon saw Momo. She waved her hands around in the dark and demanded that Nayeon realize the empty space wasn’t empty at all.

“I-” 

Someone cleared their throat. Momo’s hand fell from Nayeon’s face and the moment was cut. Nayeon raised a hand to her cheek absently because she was so sure that Momo’s fingers were still pressed against it.

“I’ll see you later on, Nayeon.” She stepped out of the apartment. Her eyes fell on Momo again and the blonde smiled before she stepped towards Nayeon and placed a kiss on her lips.

She left.

Nayeon was still focused on the way her cheek felt warmer than the rest of her body.

She turned to look at Momo but only saw her door as it was slammed shut.

The silent hallway was all Nayeon was left with. For two short minutes it tore her apart.

Then there was loud music from her neighbor's apartment.

Nayeon wished she had been raised to be seen and heard.


	8. Chapter 8

No one had told Nayeon that being an adult came with so many side effects. All of them varied in severity and how much they could affect her.

Her apartment still sucked and there was still no heating, the worn out couch was still worn out and the walls were still very much plain. She still hated all of that.

She still found it hard to be an adult, that hadn’t changed either. Still found it unfair that no one had really taught her how to be one for such a long time.

Nayeon’s life had been filled with oxymora. She was the eldest among her friends, but they treated her as if she was the youngest and most fragile. She was an only child but still was never smothered with affection from her parents – they should’ve had nothing but time for her. She thought so at least.

Nayeon had spent a lot of wasted time trying to be like everyone else and that hadn’t gone so well, she could admit that much. She bit her tongue when she was shoved and put her friends’ relationships before hers because she thought that was the right thing to do - that was her way of saying she loved them.

She spent so much time looking for love and willing it to be something magical; that she was completely unaware of when it was actually around her.

It was in the way Chaeyoung would call her everyday and listen to her frustrated spiels about a certain neighbor. It was in the way the younger girl would show up, without her girlfriend, just so she could spend time with Nayeon on her worn out couch in her dreary apartment watching bad movies. Because she knew Nayeon would never ask her to do it – and because she loved Nayeon.

Love came in a bunch of different sizes – it was in the little way Jisoo would send Nayeon her favorite chocolates a couple days before Valentine’s Day (so as to not seem too suspicious) or the way Joy would make a three hour drive to their side of town just to spend Nayeon’s birthday with her and the rest of their friends. Love even made itself visible in the unused cookbook Nayeon’s mother had bought her.

So, maybe Nayeon had been a little too focused on trying to get something everyone else described to her. She had always been someone who learned by watching and replicating – she followed her mother’s submissive nature perfectly and she held onto Chaeyoung’s every word about fireworks and sparks flying.

Nayeon had to find out for herself that it wasn’t any of that, no.

Love was everywhere. Whether it was the kind she was after or not didn’t matter because Nayeon had never even known what she wanted. Not really.

Love was a side effect all on its own but it had nothing to do with being an adult. Why didn’t anyone tell her that being an adult wasn’t all that important in the first place? Why had she not figured that out until she met the woman with the red and black motorcycle helmet and the twinkling eyes?

For Nayeon, fireworks were traded for understanding and the sparks that were supposed to fly were traded for knowledge – because Momo understood and taught her so much before she even said two words to her.

Love wasn’t a task to be checked off and completed just so you wouldn’t be alone anymore. It wasn’t some sort of prize that you would win if you were prefect and did your best in each relationship you entered – love didn’t care about the perfect little moments or any of that inconsequential stuff.

Love was divine and Nayeon had prayed for it so many times that maybe, _maybe_ , that was why she had found it bent down on her knees and trying to shove three envelopes under her neighbor’s door.

Love had been the one to find her, after all her years of searching, it came to her instead.

It was in the way Momo noticed her, in the way Momo had encouraged her to speak up. In the night Momo had followed her out onto a park bench without a jacket when it was freezing, just so she could say sorry to her.

Love came in the small acts and Nayeon now felt that the small acts sometimes meant more than the big ones.

Like how Momo had looked at her. Momo had the warmest eyes but it was down to much more than that, it was in the way Momo would give her her fullest attention and everything else around them would turn into background noise. Nothing else would matter because Momo was looking at her and she was looking back at Momo.

Nayeon received love – she gave it too. In the way she padded over to Momo’s apartment in her bunny slippers and offered her ice cream to cheer her up. In the way she would listen out for Momo’s footsteps every night to make sure she returned home safely. In the way she dried Momo’s hair for her and held her face softly while raindrops fell against her window.

So, being an adult was difficult at times and sometimes it did involve paying bills and learning when to let go of an argument, but it had nothing to do with biting your tongue when someone brushed your shoulder in passing and Nayeon realized it didn’t involve sacrificing your happiness for anyone else either.

Responsibility as an adult: _yourself_.

It had been as simple as that all that time.

Unless you had a mini you running around, as an adult you were your top priority. All your actions were your choice. All your words were yours to say and mean. Therefore, unsurprisingly, you had to clean up the messes you made by yourself: _yourself_.

Nayeon ran a hand through her hair and walked away from a very upset Ji-yoo outside of the movie theater they had agreed to meet at. The blonde she had initially walked up to was all smiles and coy looks until Nayeon met her eyes with a sad smile and broke it to her. Now, that same blonde was somewhere behind her and yelling words that Nayeon knew she didn’t mean, but she had done her part already. The fact alone that she had been calling her _Chihuahua Girl_ in her mind should've spoken volumes from the start. Nayeon had never wanted to get attached to her. It took too long but she had been honest and even though it sucked that she hurt someone, it would’ve been worse to draw out the inevitable.

Chaeyoung had waited in the car and when Nayeon got in; she immediately drove off and headed back the way they came.

The radio in the car played some mellow music and the short girl drummed her fingers on the steering wheel in time to it. Nayeon just watched all the buildings they passed through the window.

“You’re smiling.” Chaeyoung noticed. “It’s creeping me out a little.”

Nayeon laughed and shrugged. She checked the time. 7:30 P.M.

“I’m happy. You rather I silently brood?”

Chaeyoung raised her eyebrows.

“No, not at all.” She paused while she chose the right words. “It’s just that you’re usually a wreck after these things end.”

That was true but, that was before. Before when Nayeon thought she was in some race to find love before it disappeared forever.

“It wasn’t fair to her.”

Chaeyoung’s eyes remained on the road but there was a small smile on her face.

When they pulled into the parking lot designated for the show it was already eight o’clock. Chaeyoung turned the engine off and looked at her best friend. The car was dark now but neither girl made a move to get out of it. Nayeon was anxious to find Momo and equally as terrified. She didn’t really know Chaeyoung’s own reasoning for hanging back until she asked:

“You okay?” Chaeyoung asked.

Nayeon turned to her and a smile spread across her face.

“Yeah.” And she found that it wasn’t a polite lie that time. She was actually okay.

Chaeyoung smiled at her and nodded her head.

“Different but familiar.” She repeated.

And now Nayeon understood what she meant.

It wasn’t easy to find Momo. Nayeon had to go backstage, where she was positive she wasn’t allowed, and she had to tell a small fib that she was Momo’s friend and Momo was looking for her.

A girl with short blonde hair dressed in a red outfit had raised an eyebrow at her, but pointed a finger towards the back door that led out to a side street after Nayeon told her her name.

Nayeon pushed it open and looked left to right. The street had two lamp posts on the opposite side a couple feet apart from each other. They illuminated the alleyway and as if it was a spotlight made for Momo, one of them shined directly on her. Nayeon’s eyes landed on the figure that was leaning against the brick wall of the building. Upon hearing the door open, the woman turned to see who had joined her.

Nayeon was still by the door as their eyes met and nothing but the soft chatter of the dancers from inside the room behind her could be heard. Momo smiled a little and Nayeon’s shoulders visibly released the tension they held.

She walked away from the door and let it shut. The night was a little chilly and she had worn a black dress that stopped right above her knees – (k)needless to say that it didn’t exactly help her fend off the cold bite of the air.

Nayeon folded her arms over her chest for some warmth and watched Momo closely, more than sure that the Japanese might walk around her and ignore whatever she had to say. She wouldn’t exactly blame her.

“What are you doing?” Were Momo’s first words however, after she had gotten a little closer. Nayeon rolled her eyes but smiled despite herself.

This time she had her answer.

“Looking for you.”

In a weird full circle in-need-of-love-and-understanding kind of way, that had been way too true.

Momo had a little white stick in her hand that she twirled around her fingers absently. Nayeon’s eyes followed the movements for a couple seconds until she heard that sweet yet commanding voice.

“You found me then.”

Nayeon wanted to correct her – Momo had found _her_ , not the other way around. She watched the Japanese fiddle with a lighter but she never actually made a move to light the cigarette between her fingers.

“Always will. I decided that on the way here.”

Momo smiled at that. The tension between them was still strong and Nayeon wanted to rectify it as soon as possible.

Momo’s head tilted at her and she gave Nayeon that same searching, intense stare that she always did. The wind blew gently and the older girl smelt peaches. They simultaneously moved closer to each other. There was a warmth that came from just being near Momo – a warmth that could spread through Nayeon and heat her up from the inside out until she forgot she was cold.

“I thought you had a date?” The side of her head was against the wall and she refused to drop the eye contact – which was fine with Nayeon.

“Something more important came up.” Nayeon shrugged casually but on the inside her heart behaved as if she was on a rollercoaster ride. There was definitely nothing remotely casual about the way she felt giddy from just standing beside Momo and having her look into her eyes.

“You picked me.” She said the words softer than ever and it rivaled the gentleness of the wind that blew again.

Her heart felt abused at this point because, who wouldn’t pick Momo? God, she owed them a personal thank you for missing out.

Nayeon realized she could’ve probably met a million Ji-yoos and taken her time getting to know each and every one of them; she could’ve had sex with them as well, then returned their phone calls and bit back a grimace at the flowers they might’ve sent her. She could’ve gone on a million different dates but none of them would have mattered, because that was another side effect.

Not of being an adult, no. This was a side effect of Hirai Momo.

Dark brown eyes made Nayeon _dizzy_ as they locked onto her and tried to work the words out of her. But Nayeon felt tongue-tied.

Momo’s outfit was a perfect blue and the fabric around her shoulders was sheer in some places. It showed off the defined but subtle muscles she had on her stomach and arms. Nayeon’s favorite color changed in seconds.

She realized she hadn't replied yet.

She wanted to bring Momo closer by the blue fabric around her shoulders and use her lips to talk instead since her mouth was doing such a horrible job at cooperating.

“Like what you see?”

She looked up to the smug look on Momo’s face and saw that the impish twinkle in her eyes had been rekindled.

Momo made her _bold_.

“Always have.”

The younger girl looked at her and bit down on her lip as she shook her head. She continued to fiddle with the cigarette for a few short seconds, and then she flicked it into a garbage can beside her.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” Nayeon said because she never noticed and Momo had never smelt like anything but peaches and mint and _Momo_.

“I don't – well I used to. I ran out of gum.”

Nayeon nodded in understanding. She pulled a fresh pack of gum from her back pocket and offered a stick out to Momo, who took it with a small smile – the same one that was so rare to see on her face but so very rewarding.

Nayeon had subconsciously bought the same brand that she often saw Momo with and if Momo realized she didn’t mention it. But the smile widened.

“I thought you had a date.” Momo said again, as if she couldn’t believe Nayeon was right next to her. She chewed the mint flavored stick slowly. Nayeon was a little hypnotized by the way her jaw moved and the way the wind would blow about her dark hair softly.

“You look beautiful.”

“Your date was pretty beautiful, too.”

Nayeon laughed.

“But could I throw tomatoes at her?” Momo grinned at that and the sight alone made Nayeon want to move even closer to her. “She wasn’t you and that was a big deal breaker for me.”

The Japanese obviously didn’t expect that answer because she looked away for a second. The light captured the way Momo’s cheeks turned a light pink color.

“To answer your question, I told Ji-yoo that I couldn’t see her anymore.”

Momo raised her eyebrows.

“That’s big for you. I’m shocked. You’re usually too polite to do such a thing.”

Momo was teasing her.

“Mm.” Nayeon leaned her shoulder on the wall and gave Momo her full attention. She quite literally turned a back on the rest of the world, with the door separating them from everyone else behind her. Momo seemed to do the opposite as she faced her. “I told a lie to find you, you know. That’s not very polite.”

“To find me? Where else would I sulk? A dark alley should’ve been your first go-to spot.” She laughed shortly as if Nayeon had said something ridiculous and Nayeon smiled because Momo’s eyes had that light in them again – the streetlights didn’t do them justice on their own.

“You could’ve sulked in a bathroom like every other person would. You know how awkward it was looking into every empty stall?”

“Couldn’t have been that bad if they were empty.”

“Maybe it was only bad because I couldn’t find you.”

Momo smiled and Nayeon could tell her defenses had lowered from the way she softened her gaze just that little bit more.

“I thought you had a date.” Momo said again and Nayeon now knew that translated to _‘I thought you weren’t coming tonight’._

“I’m going to attend every dance show you have. I decided that earlier tonight as well.”

Momo let out a disbelieving laugh.

“So you really picked me?”

Nayeon frowned and shook her head.

“I didn’t pick you, Momo. There were no other choices after I met you.”

That was the truth. Momo made her completely _honest_ about the way she felt. There was nothing her voice could hide that Momo wouldn’t find in her eyes after.

Nayeon’s gaze fell to the red lips that were slightly open as Momo took her words in and got lost in her own thoughts. Nayeon stared from the dark hair that was curled at the ends, the pinch in her eyebrows, past the straight nose and down to the parted lips. Momo was beautiful. She had never seen someone as beautiful actually.

Nayeon could remember a time where that drove her crazy – absolutely insane, because: _why did she have to be so beautiful?_

But the only question Nayeon could think of as she stared at the beautiful woman was: _what would it be like to kiss Momo?_

“Momo.”

The Japanese tilted her head at her.

“Mm?”

Nayeon licked her lips and she felt her heart do things that she was pretty sure she should see a doctor about. The way her stomach tightened apprehensively couldn’t be healthy either.

Momo’s side effects on her were sweaty palms, a racing heartbeat and the feeling that she might actually faint at some point.

Then Momo put her hand on her waist like an anchor and Nayeon closed her eyes to brace herself for her next words. She opened them to find Momo smiling with that mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Can I kiss you?”

The dancer smiled a little wider. Nayeon blushed and she was pretty certain that there was a blush on Momo’s cheeks as well.

“I’d like that.”

So, Nayeon focused on the hand on her waist that kept her grounded. She focused on the way Momo had looked down to her lips and the way she saw dark lashes flutter before they looked back up. She focused on the smell of peaches and mint and _Momo_ that drew her in closer, without her even realizing at first, and the way Momo leaned in as well.

Nayeon’s eyes closed at the last possible second.

She smiled into the kiss within the first two seconds.

Momo’s lips were warm against hers. They were soft and gentle and everything you wouldn’t expect from a leather wearing biker with impish glares and teasing smiles. But maybe you could expect it from a woman who had smuggled a dog into her apartment and told someone so in need of acceptance, that she was easy to love.

Nayeon’s hand moved to rest on her cheek as she brought the other woman impossibly closer after the first five seconds of the kiss.

The sixth second brought a thought to her mind amidst all the haze.

She pulled away and smiled.

Nayeon felt fireworks.

:

Brown boxes were dotted all over Nayeon’s apartment randomly. There was no particular order in the way she had packed, actually she was pretty sure the kitchen stuff was mixed with the books she hadn’t read since college. Not that she cared.

The same couldn’t be said for the Japanese with a hand in her hair as she looked at Nayeon with clear frustration.

“When you asked me to help you pack, I envisioned something else.”

Nayeon smiled and sat on the ugly couch for what would hopefully be the last time.

Momo stood behind her and placed her hands around her neck as she bent down to give the side of her head a soft kiss.

“Excited?” She asked by her ear.

Nayeon nodded her head.

“Very. Chaeyoung is going to meet us there.”

Momo moved and then stepped onto the back of the couch and sat there. Nayeon gave her a look.

“What? You can stand on my couch but I can’t stand on yours?”

Nayeon laughed and half-heartedly hit her shoulder. The younger woman smiled at her.

“It’s not even mine anymore. Do your worst.”

She looked up at her and was still shocked at how much Momo’s eyes could make her feel.

Momo smiled and sat in the couch normally, entirely for Nayeon’s sake probably.

“It’s going to be so weird not living right next to you.” Momo said. Nayeon smiled and kissed her lips – she did that a lot. Momo’s lips were addictive; Nayeon should’ve seen _that_ side effect coming.

“I hope someone in their nineties moves in. Just in case you feel like falling in love with the next neighbor you get.”

Momo laughed at that and brought her lips towards Nayeon’s again.

“I’ll never feel like falling in love with anyone else but you.”

Their lips brushed against each other and Nayeon shied away from the ticklish feeling it brought.

“Yeah?”

Momo smiled.

“Yeah.”

Then Nayeon almost closed the distance, she pulled back at the last second and Momo whined her disapproval of the teasing.

Momo brought her head forward again but ended up chasing Nayeon’s lips in vain.

She sighed exasperatedly. Nayeon smiled.

“Yes? What is it?”

“I have to show you something.”

Momo shook her head and cupped the brunette’s face so she could bring her closer.

“After. Show me after. Anything you want – even another five hour long documentary about fish. I promise.” She mumbled the words against her lips and she was so sure she would get her kiss, but Nayeon pulled away and stood up from the couch with a laugh.

“Nayeon.” The older grinned at the way Momo groaned – as if not being able to kiss her was a great disappointment.

“Mm? Give me a second, I think I accidentally packed it in one of these boxes.” She stood with her hands on her hips as she looked around the now, practically bare apartment. Well, in all honesty it was already pretty sparse before, but now the boxes made it clear that no one would occupy it at all within another hour or so.

Nayeon felt some nostalgia; it was only normal since this was a place she had lived for three years. A place where a lot of memories were.

“Nayeon.” Momo groaned again and Nayeon chuckled and resumed her search.

She went through a box that had bed sheets and blankets – she would probably buy new ones anyway. It didn’t feel right putting the old sheets from this apartment on the bed in her new one. Under a faded blanket that Nayeon wasn’t sure was hers (maybe Chaeyoung had brought it over for a sleepover within the first year of Nayeon moving in) there was a plastic bag and Nayeon smiled once she saw it.

Momo kept her eyes on her as she made her way back over to the couch.

“What’s that?”

Nayeon held the bag out for her to take.

Momo grinned – Nayeon learned that Momo loved receiving things. It didn’t even have to be much, Nayeon once bought her a variation of different gums to try and the Japanese had been over the moon with excitement.

“My new apartment allows pets.” Nayeon said as Momo stuck her hand in and brought out the new red collar with little black paw prints on it.

“Max.” Momo read the name on it and bit her lip to stop her smile from spreading across her face. She looked at Nayeon and before the older girl knew it, she was being attacked by kisses peppered all over her face. All Nayeon could do was laugh and pretend to want to escape. “I love you. I love you.” Momo said it after each peck and Nayeon’s stomach did those little flips again. “You’re the best.”

“You like it?”

Momo nodded her head fervently.

“Only, this means I’m losing my favorite girl and boy in one day.” Momo tilted her head with a frown. “How will I cope?”

From the teasing glint in her eyes, Nayeon suspected that Momo knew the answer all too well.

She licked her bottom lip slowly and nodded. Her nimble finger traced up Momo’s arm and to her neck. She smiled at the love-bite she had left there the previous night.

“My new apartment also allows girlfriends.”

“Multiple?”

Nayeon shrugged. “If they agree to keep the volume down.”

“I created a sex maniac.”

Nayeon laughed and her head fell against Momo’s shoulder. She could remember Chaeyoung calling Momo that months ago.

“Pack some of your things. Claim a drawer. Leave a toothbrush. Choose a side of the bed.”

Nayeon pulled away to look her girlfriend in the eyes.

“Stay for days at a time after you say you’re only coming over to watch a movie with me.”

“If it’s one of your documentaries that will take days.”

Momo was teasing her.

Nayeon could translate it well enough by now and she knew it meant that Momo was flustered by the proposal.

She softened her eyes and held Momo’s face with her hands. Brown expressive eyes stared back at her and Nayeon smiled at the pull she felt. She obediently leaned forward and connected their lips.

It was soft and it was warm, it was a start to something else that Nayeon couldn’t wait for.

“Whenever you’re ready – you could stop by one day,” she smiled and pulled back. Momo’s eyes were still closed but they had fluttered open when she felt Nayeon move away, “whichever way it works out, one day you could stop by and stay.”

Her eyes twinkled and Nayeon got to see that rare smile again. The one that Momo only showcased from time to time. Nayeon was still working out what it meant but she knew it was good.

“I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for being here!  
> 


End file.
